Sofia the First - Teenage Version - Intro
by Natnarf01
Summary: Sofia's all grown up into a almost refined teenage princess. Royal Prep is going to host an upcoming Ball, and she needs to choose someone to be her partner for it. While all seems fine, King Roland II has other troubling matters of his own, trying to decide the future of the Enchancian Kingdom. The story will depend on path or character of choice. What do you think will happen?
1. STF-Teenage Version-Intro Part 1

_**Disclaimer: **_Sofia The First characters and series all belong to the Sofia The First cartoon show and on_ Disney Junior channel._

_Comments From the Author:_

This next few chapters are just going to be the introductions. It's really LONG for an intro, so I have decided to split it into three parts. I have already announced in my News & Updates section in here, but just in case you have not read it, I will only upload a section once a month, unless some emergency comes up and I will upload a few extra chapters. The stories after this intro will be...let's just keep it as a surprise for now.

Nevertheless, I do hope you will enjoy this new FanFic series. I will also update the others with every chance that I have.

I will also post a poll up every now and then, please feel free to go to my Profile page and check out the polls. Thanks!

* If this is your first time in this website and you would like to look at the next chapter, please look just below the 'Follow/Favorite' button. There should be a button with an arrow sign, which will lead you to the next chapter.

Or you can copy and paste the link of the next chapter given to you in your email if you have clicked "Follow" to follow me here on FanFiction.

Happy reading everyone!

Natnarf

* * *

><p><span><em>Young Sofia's POV:<em>

I brushed my hair and placed the brush back to my vanity dresser. I got and went over to bed. It's still a bit tad too large for me so I had a small set of stairs to go up onto my bed. Clover was in his usual cushion bed hugging his pre-roasted carrots done by Crackle, Robin and Mia were sleeping on the backboard of my bed, and Whatnaught is at his usual spot, the window seat. It's a great spot to be in when you want to relax, just to getaway from the busy moments in life. I sat up in my bed, got my legs under the covers and gave my body a good stretch, feeling every limb and muscles unwinding in my body.

"Sounds like you've had quite a day by the way you're stretching yourself there." Clover said as I watched him climb onto my bed and making his way over to my side. "Hope you didn't over work yourself."

"We wouldn't want everyone thinking that we gave you a hard time, Sofia." Mia followed.

"I'm sure she just had too much fun." Robin said lastly.

"You're right, Robin. I just had another great day today. I wonder what more surprises would await me tomorrow? " I answered with excitement. Then a yawn followed.

In case you are wondering to whom I was talking to, I was talking to my animal friends, the two birds and the gray bunny. I am able to talk to them normally because of the amulet that my step-dad gave to me. Before I became a princess I used to live in the Village of Dunwiddy as a Village girl. Mom used to work as a Shoemaker and it was just us alone under one roof. One day we were called to the castle to make a new pair of shoes for the King, known as King Roland the second. I don't know what really happened, but the moment Mom put on a shoe on one of the King's foot, they instantly got locked into each others' arms and fell in love, I guess. The next thing I knew was that we moved into the castle the next day and I instantly became a Princess. in a day. That night after we moved into the castle, Dad gave me a welcome gift by giving me the Amulet of Avalor, a family heirloom handed down to him by his mother, saying that it will protect and watch over the person who wears it. Later on I found out that it had possessed magical powers, with a little help from Mr. Cedric who had tried to make me feel welcomed. I saw in one of his spell books describing what the Amulet of Avalor is capable of. "Which each deed performed, for better or worse, a power is granted, a blessing or curse.". I realized that I was able to talk to animals because I had helped a baby bird go back into its nest. Of course I got surprised when I realized this ability given to me, but because of that I had made many wonderful animal friends.

I looked at my amulet and held in tight and close to my chest.

"I really feel so grateful for everything that's happened to me so far." I said proudly. "I am also grateful to have such great friends like you guys. What would I do without you?"

"Um, dress up and clean the room by yourself?"

"Clover!"

"I know, I know. I was just joking." he laughed and nibbled on his roasted carrot.

I looked out through the window at the moon, and my memories had begun projecting to me all of the wonderful memories in my head through the moon, like when you watch a Play. My new family; Dad, Amber and James, the castle's most irreplaceable Steward Baileywick and his brother Nigel, our great Royal Sorcerer Mr. Cedric, and the castle maids and staff who have been there to take care and serve us. Everyone at Royal Preparatory Academy; our Headmistresses Ms. Flora, Ms. Fauna and Ms. Merryweather, Sir Gilliam, and Professor Popov, Mrs. Higgins the librarian, our friends and classmates, too many to name, and my flying Derby Horse Minimus. Then there are also friends that I have from the village, especially my two best friends Ruby and Jade who have always been with me before and after becoming a princess. I know that there will be more people to meet and make friends with, so my list of friends will never run out of space.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Clover and the others scurried to hide under my bed at the sounds of the knocking on my door.

"Sofia? Are you still awake?" It was Baileywick's voice. "May I come in?"

"Sure, Baileywick."

He opens and closes the door with grace and walks over to my bed with posture.

"Sofia, you are supposed to answer 'Yes, you may come in' whenever someone is at the door." he said with guidance. "And why aren't you asleep yet, my dear?"

"I was just saying my thanks, to whoever's watching over us, for giving me another wonderful day today. I was also thanking them for letting me have so many wonderful people in my life, and hoping to meet even more people, like you for instance." I gestured at him. "For taking such good care of me and our family, especially Dad, or he wouldn't be able to serve our kingdom at all."

"Oh Sofia. It is an honor to serve your royal highness's family. I wouldn't have served any other family than yours."

"Don't forget, you too are part of the family, not just our Royal Steward."

"Thank you, Sofia." Then he swiftly checks his pocket watch. "It's getting late, my dear. You have school tomorrow. I shall leave you to retire for the night."

He bows to me and turns to walk over to the door. He opens it slightly and turns to face me.

"Anything you'd like before I go?"

"Yes. Tell everyone in the castle that I said 'Good night' and 'Thank you'." I smiled. "Good night, Baileywick."

He smiled widely like how I would whenever I feel happy, bowed, and disappeared behind the doors.

Clover and everyone else came out from under my bed. They all went back to their places and slept soundly. From the smiles on their faces, they understood that my message was also meant for them.

"Sweet dreams, everyone." I whispered and turned off my oil lamp on my bedside table.

_Older Present Sofia's POV_

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

I was awakened by the sounds of the knocking on my door, but my senses weren't quite kicking in yet. The door opened without waiting for my answer, and Baileywick comes walking in with some sort of long book in his hand.

"Good morning, Princess Sofia." he says while walking towards the curtains and opens them. "It's such a lovely morning, don't you think?"

"Morning, Baileywick." I replied with a small yawn while rubbing.

I got out of bed and walked over to the window seat. I opened the windows and looked out into the scenery. The sun in the sky was shining brightly and there weren't any clouds to block it, the windy breeze was soothing to my hair as if it was spiritually combining my hair, the sounds of chirping from the birds that were flying in the sky, and the view of the kingdom looked just as wonderful as always, beautiful enough to paint it and hang it up on my wall. It's very...melodious.

"Just the way I like it, and the way it should be and always will be." I said to finish my reply.

"I can't agree more." he said. "Here you go, Sofia." He hands me the thin book in his hand.

"What's this?" I asked as I start opening the book and scanning its pages.

The pages where filled with lists of different kinds of dishes. From appetizers to desserts, from soup to fried rice, and all sorts of other foods that I've had in the castle.

"The chef would like to know if you would want to have anything specifically for breakfast today as he is in a good mood today. I'd take my chances if I were you." He whispered jokingly.

"That's alright." I said as I closed the book in my hands together and handed it back to Baileywick. "Just tell him that I just want the usual, and if he still insists, tell him he can surprise me anything he wants to serve me with."

"Right away, Sofia. Anything else you want or be delivered?"

I looked over at Clover's bowl and saw that it was empty again.

"Could you send someone to fill up Clover's bowl? And some food for my other animal friends too?"

Baileywick knows of my animal friends that usually visits my room, and has suggested that I can request for their food anytime of day, so as long as I have a plate or bowl for them to have the food in.

"Certainly, Sofia. See you at the breakfast table." He went and left my room.

I gaze out into the scenery once more and took in a deep breath.

"It's another day, so it's time to rise and shine again, Sofia." I said to myself enthusiastically.

"G' morning, Princess Sofia."

I turned around and saw my personal maid, Violet, already in my room and holding up my dress.

"Do you want to wear this one today?

The dress that she is holding is colored lilac, and almost looks like an off-the-shoulder gown. The lilac and white ruffles around the shoulders and neckline gives it an illusion that my gown had sophisticated short sleeves. My gown's neckline is sitting just below my collar bone. I have a couple of vertical lines around my bodice, and at the back there's a lace-like corset going crisscross from top to bottom of the bodice, just to give it a tight look even though it's not, and there's a pearl lining around my waistline. My floor length skirt is less plumped 'cause it is filled with pleats all around to make my dress look like it is heavy. To top off the design, from the middle doing down the skirt is covered in more lilac and white ruffles all the around, thus completes the illusion of looking like a I had a lot of petticoats underneath. This is by far the greatest design ever done by Madame Collette, the castle's Royal Dressmaker. This dress is my fifth favorite one since I out grew my first favorite gown, with all of the pearls on it. I still kept that dress on a mannequin as a display in the back of my closet, to remind me of how I first started out as a princess 10 years ago. Yes, it has been that long, which seemed like time had just flown by over night.

"Yes, Violet. I'd like to wear that today." I said as I went over her.

"As you wish, m' lady." Violet smiled.

"Violet?"

"Yes, m' lady?"

"Please just call me Sofia. You've been serving me for so long at least call me like I was one of your friends."

"But m' lady, Mr. Baileywick would never approve of it." She looked panicked.

All of the staff in the castle were all hand chosen and trained under Baileywick's guidance. Any wrong doings or mistakes were always corrected by him.

"Just call me Sofia. It's my order after all. So don't worry. Besides, you're part of the family, so you might as well be treated like one, too." I said as I happily took the dress from her. "Since you're here, I'd like you to do something for me."

I went over to my writing desk, which is also my study nook. I took a piece of paper and dabbled my writing quill into my ink bottle and started scribbling down.

"Yes, S-Sofia? " She mumbled.

"That's a good start. Now then."

I put my quill pen back into its holder and closed the ink bottle with its lid. I gently folded my paper and walked over to Violet.

"Please take this to Baileywick. I need him to get this done right away." I said as I gave her the folded paper. "Now, go on. I'll dress up myself. I need that task done as soon as possible. "

"Of course, m'lady. Er, I mean, Sofia." She says as quickly as she dashes off.

I pick up my dress and start to put it on when I suddenly hear sounds of wings flapping behind me.

"Let us help you put on your dress."

It was my bird friends, Robin and Mia. When I was younger they were very quick and well...young. Now they are almost reaching their golden years, meaning they're getting too old to help me. I could never ask them to help me when they deserve to have their retirement for helping me out all of these years.

"That's okay, Robin, Mia. I'm pretty sure that I can dress up on my own now. After all, I am 17 years old, and you guys deserve to rest once in a while."

I went behind the folding screen and changed out of my nightgown. I finished dressing up and went to my closet and hung up my nightgown. I got and wore on my matching lilac low heeled toe covered shoes. These shoes had a shimmering coating done over, just to replace the lack of pearls that I used to have on my previous dresses, or what they call 'accents'.

I went over to my vanity dresser, sat down and started parting my long hair into halves to brush my hair. I had grown my hair to be no more than mid back length, or I wouldn't be able to maintain it myself. I grew it just so I could keep up with my image to match my age, as suggested by Amber on how to look like a proper princess. I didn't quite agree with that fact at first, but I got used to it as time went by and I grew quite fond of my longer hair. Now I could do more hairstyles than when I had short hair, but I only did simple hairstyles, or at most times, none at all. Nevertheless, as long as I brushed my hair thoroughly everyday and keep it flowing naturally no one would complain. I brushed one side of the hair to the other, carefully untangling all the knots in my hair, then I combed my hair back with my hand for the final touch, so that it will look natural when my hair settles down. I then wore my tiara, which I still use since becoming a princess, perfect with my side swept bangs.

I learned most of these things at Royal Prep, the fashion part I mean, and really felt that I've been given too much consideration just because I was starting out as a new princess back then. I decided that I would try to adjust myself to the proper rules of how a princess' attire and appearances should be, so that I wouldn't burden others just to help me get comfortable to royal life.

I grabbed my bag...no wait, I used to have a bag to grab. You see, a few years ago in one of Ms. Flora's class, she suddenly gave us even more books to have, which meant we have to bring them everyday to school and they're really bulky and heavy to fit in my bag. Instead of getting a new bag, I've been taught by Mr. Cedric on a few tricks on how to carry less, or simply just my wand. He taught me how to make my wand into a bracelet, by saying '_Wandus Mutato Brachiel'_, and back into a wand again saying '_Brachiel Mutato Wandus'_, using my index finger as a pointer. When I want to have my things appear in front of me, all I have to do is say '_Buxis Appareo'_, and a box will magically appear before me. It's a like a storage box and I could store as many objects as I want, meaning all of my books, quill writing equipment, and other school necessities. When I'm done with my box, '_Buxis Defluo'_, the box disappears, till I need to summon it again. From then on, I never needed to carry anything at all, saving me a lot of hassle and weight.

He also taught me something important about magic spells. Whenever I learn or attempt to try a new spell, I should always research on them thoroughly and carefully. Most of the words used in spells, whether in a regular magic spell or a counter-spell, are mostly made up of Latin, Greek, or on rare occasions Italian words. Most of the times I mess up the spells, and it's due to my lack of knowledge on languages, so I would most often mispronounce the words and get the spells wrong. Like one time I asked him for a dancing spell because I didn't know how to dance and I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of everyone, who were attending my 'Welcoming Ball', and laugh at me. When the time came for me to start dancing to the Waltz, I chanted the words according to what Mr. Cedric had written on a paper for me, and I ended up making everyone in the room go to sleep, even Mr. Cedric fell victim to my spell. From then on, I've always brought with me all three dictionaries; Latin, Greek, and Italian, whenever I learn a new spell. I really respect Mr. Cedric, he's really brilliant, talented, and wise. I don't know why everyone's doubtful towards him, but I'm sure they'll change their minds when they get to know the real Mr. Cedric and acknowledge his true talents. What would our kingdom be without our brilliant Royal Sorcerer?

I took my wand out of my bedside table's drawer and begun waving it around.

"_Wandus Mutato Brachiel_!" I said the spell slow and steady with confidence. One of the greatest advices that Mr. Cedric has ever taught me when doing magic.

I watched as my wand turned into a lovely bracelet around my left wrist, and it's the most prettiest one I've ever seen done by a wand. Its design matches my amulet, having small purple jewels with silver wires. I turned to see that Clover was still asleep on his cushion, while Robin and Mia were resting on my canopy bed pillows.

"I'll be back soon." I said in a whisper while quietly slipping out of my room walking backwards.

As soon as I heard my door click, I turned around and walked along the corridors, leading towards a large staircase going down to the dining room. I've always admired the huge portraits and paintings that hung along the walls of the staircases, and almost everywhere that you can find throughout the entire castle. Some of them are paintings of stories from some of the famous princesses from all around the world. The paintings along the staircases that I'm walking down are illustrations of Cinderella's story, of how she used to suffer from the hands of her step-family, treating her like a maid and doing all of the chores to maintain the cleanliness of the castle. Her step-sisters were no different, always treating her really badly, as if Cinderella was a nobody. Thank goodness my step-family isn't anything at all like Cinderella's.

I arrived at the royal dining table and everyone was already seated. Dad sat at the end of the table as usual, Mom sat on his left side of the table, James sat after her, and Amber after him. I went towards the table.

"Good morning, everyone." I greeted my whole family with a curtsy.

"Good morning, Sofia." Dad greeted.

"Good morning, Honey." Mom said and I gave her a kiss on her right cheek.

"G' mawnin!" James said with food still stuffed in his mouth.

"James! Manners!" Baileywick was standing behind him from out of nowhere, telling him off again.

"Gulp! Sorry." James apologized. "BURP! Excuse me." he giggled.

His attitude towards food has never changed, and I rather have him the way he is. He's a very fun brother to have, whether as a royal or a commoner.

"'Morning, Sofia." Amber dabbed her mouth with her napkin and came over to hug me. I hugged her back, as tightly as she does.

The three of us didn't really get along at first, James played a prank on me first but soon apologized by teaching me how to properly pour a perfect cup of tea, and showing me how to curtsy. Amber really had me going by giving me Trick Shoes to wear in my first dance class with Professor Popov. We finally made amends when I went to her to ask for help during my 'Welcoming Ball', and she confessed that she was jealous of me because she taught everyone liked me more than her ever since I came into the castle. She helped me find a Counter-spell for the dancing spell that made everyone sleep and taught me how to Waltz, and I helped sew her huge torn on her dress, which I never got to ask how she got it. I feel like we aren't just close siblings, ever-after friends even!

Amber went back to her seat and continued to eat her meal. I went over to the other side of the table, on Dad's right side. Baileywick quickly went over to me and pulled up the first chair and sat me down. I looked at my table and saw a large silver cover on my plate, just to prevent the food from going cold, a glass of grape juice and a glass of water on the top right side, a set of forks and knifes going according to size, and a folded swan napkin on the top left. Beside my covered plate was also another silver cover, and has everything that I have on my set, except the napkin was folded into like a triangle kind of sculpture.

"So you read my note?" I looked at Baileywick.

"Yes, Princess Sofia. Want me to get her now?" He said with a smile.

I nodded and watched him as he went over to the walls with portraits of all of the kings of Enchancia, from the very first king, to the very present king., which is Dad of course. He looks really dashing with his cape on while riding on a horse. Baileywick motions Violet, who was standing just by one of the sides of the door, and they both walked over to my side.

"Aren't you going to eat, Sofia?" Dad asks me, seeing that I haven't touched anything on the table yet.

"I will, in just a sec." I said, gesturing my index finger like the number '1'.

"Have a seat, Violet." Baileywick pulls up the chair beside me.

"M-me?! Sit here?!" Violet was nervous. Anxious even. Or maybe scared.

"Yes, Violet. I ask that you sit beside me. Consider it an order." I said.

"B-but it's right next to you, m'lady! I'm just a-"

"Now, now. What did we just talked about earlier in my room? Please follow the orders you were given." I said facing forward and my eyes closed, pretending to be all strict.

"Y-yes, S-sofia." She managed to say the words out. Can't blame her, she's standing literally in front of everyone.

"Violet!" Baileywick exclaimed. "Sofia! This simply isn't-"

"She's part of the family too, Baileywick. In fact, everyone here should be treated equally, and respect. Besides, today is a special day for her/"

"Gulp! What day is it?" James asked, mouth emptied this time.

"Baileywick?" I pointed to Violet's covered plate.

He nodded. He proceeded to take off the cover on her plate. Under it was a nice large juicy steak, with lots of nice vegetables and a good serving of white rice.

"Oh my goodness!" Violet gasped, and covered her mouth with her hands right away.

A waiter then comes over and places another large plate with a larger cover, placing it in the middle of the table. He gently opens the cover and walks away backwards.

"Oh my." Dad says with a smile.

"Wow." Mom applauds.

"C-hoo!" James said with some food in his mouth again.

"Oh, I see." Amber looked pleased.

"Happy Birthday, Violet!" everyone greeted in unison.

On the plate was a three layered cake, covered in light blue icing and decorated with small bow like designs. All around the edge of each layer of the cake are individual strawberries with small whipped cream like cushions underneath, and on the top there's a small candle, which has yet to be lit.

I then raised my glass with grape juice in it to the center of the table. "To Violet, who has been taking care of me since I got here, and for always working hard to ensure the cleanliness of the castle."

"To Violet!" Everyone followed raising their glasses to the center of the table.

"Oh Princess! Oh my word, my word!" Violet cried with happy tears.

Baileywick finally got her to sit down, unfolded her table napkin and placed it on her lap.

"Enjoy your meal, Violet." He says, and turns to get the cover off my plate. "You too, Sofia." He then cuts a small slice from the top of the cake with the unlit candle and puts it on a small plate beside Violet.

"Let me, Baileywick." I stopped him before he attempts to light the candle.

Mr. Cedric taught me another spell, one that I can use easily while I have my wand as a bracelet. As long as long I use my index finger as a pointer and say the spell with confidence in mind and by heart.

"_Ignitious_." I said while pointing to the tip of the string of the candle and a small flame lit up. "Make a wish, Violet."

"Oh my dear. Me oh my." She says while trying to stop her tears from falling any further. "Princess, thank you so much. I'm truly grateful, honest."

"Anytime, Violet. Anytime." I helped her wipe her tears using my swan folded napkin. "And as part of my gift to you, I'm giving you a day off to go visit your family back home."

"Really? Oh thank you. Thank you so much." She says. Then she blows the candle.

"Eat as much as you want, Birthday Girl." I hugged her and sat back down in my chair.

I took a good look at my plate and smiled. It had white rice as a border around the plate, inside were minced beef and assorted vegetables, and the sauce was on top, done in writing with the word 'ENJOY'.

"Bon appetite!" and I happily dug into my plate. Delicious as always.

After breakfast, James, Amber and I went straight to the Open-top carriage to go to school. We always use the flying horses since our school is in the clouds. It is a fast way to go to school avoiding getting caught up in traffic.

"I can't wait to see Hildy. I have to tell her about my ideas on the upcoming party project. I want to know what she thinks about them." Amber said excitingly.

"Another tea party? How many more do you plan on holding this month?" James raised a brow while using his arm to prop up his head on the edge of the carriage.

"If you must know, I still have about 2 more this week, and 5 more next week. It's not easy being a Royal Party Planner." She said and smoothly flutters open her maroon fan, fanning herself. "By the way, Sofia. Tell your friends that they should attend to the party this weekend. I'll also arrange dresses for them to wear. I love it when they give praises and compliments about my magnificent parties."

"Hehe. Sure thing." I said. "I have to go check on the villages anyway after school. I will also be passing by the village of Dunwiddy to check on the constructions of the new clinic."

Ever since last year, Dad has given each of us a position to perform some of the duties that he thinks we are most capable of doing. Amber is great in hosting tea parties, banquets, and celebrations that involve food and decorations. She's already held almost 100 parties around Enchancia, and a few others in other the Kingdoms too.

I was assigned to oversee our kingdom's villages, to check that the people receive their necessities, their required resources, to maintain the peace and order amongst the people, and to provide them the necessary protection needed. Right at the moment, the people are asking for medical supplies and attention, so I've been taking immediate actions on building small clinics, so that we can cure the people that are affected by the seasonal outbreak, which is the common flu. I've also asked many people who are knowledgeable on herbs and medicines to create and supply as much as they can and send them to the clinics. I've also asked for Mr. Cedric's help to speed up the growth on the herbs and crops that are needed in making the medicines, and asked him to be on stand by if in case we are going to deal with cases that involve curses or diseases that are beyond medicinal help. I never knew that watching over villages would be really overloaded, but I'm learning many things that I can never learn just by reading books, and have made lots of new friends too.

"How about your duties on Politics and the Military, James?" Amber looked at him with steely eyes.

"...Brilliant!" he says cross legged.

"So you did actually do them by yourself?" She raised a brow.

"Mm...More or less." he shrugs.

"I hope you haven't just push everything to Zandar, Jin, Khalid and Frederick."

"I haven't. I've been busy training our soldiers very hard, and trying to recruit more strong young men into the force. Most of the ones Dad had recruited are getting too old and need to retire. I'm also raising funds to get more advanced and effective weaponry and armor, since most of our men keep destroying most of our gears during combat practices. I sure hope that I could finally request for more cannons."

"And because of that you haven't been able to study on our kingdom's politics topics at all!" Amber quickly shuts her fan and points at him with its edge. "I've been watching you closely and it seems that Zandar has been doing most of the studying for you, and believe me, he might need to get glasses sooner or later."

"Don't worry about it. He said he was going to help me highlight some of the impor-"

"He ISN'T a prince from our kingdom!" Amber cuts him off. "Even though all five of you princes are told to study and work together on these duties, Zandar is doing more than double of his original given duties. He's also has to study both of the same studies that you are supposed to study. And do you know why is that?"

"Because...he was asked to?"

"WRONG! It's because he's the only child in his family, the Only Prince in the Kingdom of Tangu." She scolded him, making most of her front hair fall down in front of her face. She uses her free hand and swiftly combs her hair back into place. "If there's anyone I should really give my gratitude and my respect to, it's him." Amber flutters her fan to herself again.

James' duties are a bit more stressful and intense. Since he's the only male child in the family, he's also the next heir and successor to inherit the crown and become King of Enchancia. He will eventually have to attend even more classes other than the classes that he is attending at the moment, classes that will work on his leadership skills needed once he becomes the next king. Those classes are only for those who are guaranteed to be next in line of the throne, meaning all of the princes in our class are required to attend. If the kingdom has two princes, both of them will still attend, in case something bad happens to the selected heir, then the other prince will take over the position. Those classes are called the Advance Prince Course.

The kingdoms that only have a princess in the family, like Princess Vivian, Princess Clio, will automatically take over the throne of their kingdoms. There are also some exceptions like if the royal family has more than one child but are all princesses, and if the first one is already married to a prince in another kingdom, then the next princess will take the place of the throne in their own kingdom, like Princess Hildegard. They will attend classes similar to the ones the princes are taking, complete with politics and military studies, but just less intense. It's called the Advance Princess Course. Clio and Vivian have already started them last year.

The rest of us who don't have to line up for the throne, we will have to take classes that will help us polish on our prince and princess skills, and eventually will be titled 'Duke' or 'Duchess' if we are not entitled to take the throne. It's called the Harmony Course. Princess Maya and Princess Leena, who are already in those classes, are eagerly waiting for us. They said the classes are very lonely without everyone around. The three of us are still in our regular classes, so we're still waiting for our results to graduate our of our classes and enter the next stage, which is sometime this week. I'm really excited.

"If only I could just study without having to actually read a single text off a page from a book, then I might actually get serious." James exhaled heavily. "I'm more of a man of action and adventure. I'd rather explore the seas, or go hunt and fight dragons, or fly around the world and explore what the world has to offer."

"On your Derby horse?" I asked excitedly. I was also enjoying his enthusiasm.

"Even better, on a magic flying carpet!" James raised his arms in the air.

I giggled.

"Oh, Sofia. You shouldn't be encouraging him." Amber said.

"I can't help it, Amber. You know how much I love the great outdoors as well."

"Oh goodness." She frowns with her arms crossed and her free hand propping up her forehead. "At least you've been working hard on your part, so you can go wild."

"Yoo Hoo! Amber!"

We heard a voice calling out and looked around, and we see another flying carriage coming to our side. It was a teal colored carriage, and the only one who loves that color can only be from one princess, Princess Hildegard. She pokes out from the window of her carriage.

"Oh, Hildy!" Amber squealed in delight.

"Hi!" James and I waved at her.

"Hi, Sofia, James." Hildegard replies.

"It's so good to see you, Hildegard." I added.

"I know." She grinned. "Amber, wanna come over here? Let's have a chat on the way."

"Sure thing, Hildy. I've got lots of things to talk about with you anyway." Amber says excitingly. "Coachman, can we line up the carriages together?"

"Certainly, ma'am." Our Coachman replied. "Ready?"

"Ready!" Hildegard's Coachman gives a thumbs up.

We watched as the two carriages lines up together and the wheels interlock. Our newly improved automatic set of stairs became a straight plank, bridging with Hildegard's carriage's foot rest at the bottom edge of the door. It didn't take long and Amber had walked across the small bridge like stairs and sat safely inside.

"See you two later!" Amber waves at us through the small window.

On the signals of the Coachmen, the two carriages freed themselves from the other, and flew a little ways apart to avoid crashing into one another.

"Finally, some peace and quiet." James says and lays back with his arms behind his head. "Sometimes Amber can be a bit too talkative."

"Same as you." I said.

"Nuh-Uh! She's more talkative! She's got a motor-mouth!"

"Oh, James."

It wasn't long before we finally reached within Royal Prep's territory and landed in front of the school gate. We got out of our carriage and witness as many other carriages and coaches coming from the other kingdoms landing one after another. Some of the princes and princesses hurriedly walked pass us, trying to get to the classrooms early. Some of them waved to us and partnered up with their friends, and some had already begun chatting amongst themselves.

"Wow. What a really lively morning." I said as I observed.

"I know. This kind of excitement is better than all of Amber's noise."

"James." I placed my hands on my hips.

"Good morning, Sofia. James."

I turned around to see Princess Clio and Princess Vivian behind us already curtsied. I curtsied back and James bowed humbly.

"Morning to you both." I said.

"That's odd. Where's Amber? Isn't she supposed to be riding the same carriage with you?" Clio asks noticing the lack of a certain presence.

"She's with Hildegard at the moment. She swapped carriages while we were flying along the way." James replied.

"I bet they went to get some petals along the way. There's a certain area in the sky with an unusual cloud raining rose petals lately. I wonder how's it doing that."

"We also heard of that odd rumor amongst the castle staff when they went out to gather some flowers and firewood, but no one can pin point where the source of it is located." I said.

It was actually Clover who overheard the rumor from the castle staff when he was having lunch in the cabbage patches and told me about it.

"My mother said that she heard a rumor about someone with wings flying in the air as of late, and it's shooting out some weird strikes of light into the air. I wonder if the two are related." Vivian voiced out.

"Maybe. Maybe it's someone with magic powers who is doing it. Our sorcerer did something like that when I first arrived at the castle, and Dad asked him to magically make the sky rain rose petals as part of the welcoming ceremony, but it lasted only for a moment." I said as I recalled that wonderful display. It was then that I really looked up to Mr. Cedric and his brilliant talents.

"Well, Vivian said it's someone with wings, so Cedric is out of the list. He can't fly and the only flying contraption he has is still broken. " James thought. " He can levitate, but he can't go higher than 3 feet off the ground."

"Hmm. Maybe it's one of the head mistresses here at the school. They have wings, and they can do magic." Vivian suggested.

"Could be, but...what reason could they have to make clouds rain petals? Besides, the wings could just be used as a prop or a disguise to cover up their silhouette if ever caught in the distance." Clio said. "Until we hear more of what's really going on, we can't just make any solid conclusions."

"I guess you're right, Clio." I smiled.

Clio usually hangs around with Amber and Hildegard, but if you ever want to know or ask her opinions on something, she'll always give out great and wise answers, even on the most difficult topics. She's truly wise. Vivian was once an outcast, always avoiding people and sitting by herself at the back of the class. I gave her a little push, and she instantly made friends with everyone, with the help of her greatest talent, music and singing. She is part of the school band, and plays her favorite instrument is the Mandolin. I've been to her castle before, and her music room was filled with all kinds of instruments. All of the instrument that you could see in that room, she can play them all: the piano, the harp, the violin, and many more. 10 years passed by like a breeze, but both Clio and Vivian really turned out to be really beautiful people, inside and out.

"Um...H-hi, everyone."

It was Prince Desmond, who had just arrived. He's also one of Royal Prep's smartest students. He's a bit shy and constantly worries about many things, but he's really a good friend to be around. He's also in the school band, and he plays the Accordion. His real passion is gardening, and he always carries a bag of gardening tools just in case he sees a plant in need. He's afraid of many things, but he's always there to help people whenever they're in trouble.

"Hi, Desmond." Clio greets first.

"Hey there, Des." James gives a pat on his shoulder.

"Hi ya." I gave a small wave.

"Good morning, Desmond." Vivian last.

"Uh...Great weather we're having, huh?" Desmond asking while fidgeting.

He's been very extremely nervous as of late, and I haven't figured out why. He's not having any fever, nor has any physical injuries, passed every test and quiz, paying attention in class as always, but he seems to dash off very quickly, and more constantly too.

"Yes, it is." Vivian answered.

"Um. V-Vivian?" he mumbled. "If...you don't mind, could...could we, say., talk for a sec? Alone?"

"Sure." She replied. "I'll be right back, everyone."

"You take your time, Vivian. We'll just go on ahead. I'll see you later in the classroom." Clio waves with a wide grin. "C'mon guys, let's _go_ inside." She hurriedly pushed us through the gates and onto the side of the lawn.

"Huh? You're pushin' us to the wrong way!" James cried out.

"Nope. This is where we're going. Hihi" Clio said with a chuckle.

She didn't give us a chance to ask about her actions. but Clio insists by gesturing us to walk through the gates with her. Following her lead from behind, we walked towards the tall hedges and Clio crouched down just as we reached them.

"Hide yourselves and walk quietly. I'd like to witness this moment." She says.

"Uh...what moment?" James scratched his temple.

"Aren't they just going to talk?" I said.

"You two are obviously dense. Do you both not understand what's going on?"

We both looked at each other and shook our heads in unison.

"Well then, let's follow them and you'll understand." She says and walks silently.

We followed her until she stops, then gestures us to kneel down.

"This is one of the girl's greatest moments in her life." Clio whispers excitedly, almost squealing.

"Which is?" James whispers.

"Following people?" I followed.

"Of course not! It's when a boy asks a girl the most painful question in his life!" Pointing excitedly towards Desmond and Vivian.

We all watched Desmond and Vivian through the small gaps in the hedges, we could see them but couldn't hear their conversation as they were a little further away from the hedges. We carefully observed how Desmond's body movement was; fidgety, looks extremely nervous, almost enough to make you want to calm him down. Vivian was being a little shy, but she was very patient and waited. It wasn't long before he opened his bag and took out a small bouquet, filled with the most beautiful roses ever picked. I would assume that he planted and grew those himself since gardening is one of his best hobbies. He puts down his bag and knelt down on one knee while holding out the bouquet to Vivian. And in that instant, Vivian visibly mouthed the word 'Yes' and gently took the bouquet, her face going all pink and red. Desmond stands up, his face glowing red with the widest grin you've ever seen on him, and lifts Vivian up in the air by her waist going in circles. You could see them both laughing happily.

"It all finally made sense." I whispered excitedly.

The weird and strange behaviors that Desmond has been showing, and the way he is around Vivian. He was in love with her all along.

"Um...Clio?" James said with concern.

I looked at her with her back facing us, her whole body visibly was shaking.

"I...can't...help...it!"

Clio begins to squeal in a really high and long pitch, and she could not long contain herself any longer that she hastily charges through the hedge, running towards Desmond and Vivian.

"Clio!" James and I yelled after her.

But she was too happy that she ran really fast and hugged them with an impact. We were a little amazed with the hole that Clio had made in the hedges as we walked through it, and when we finally reached the three of them, Desmond's face had already redden so much that you could compare him with a tomato.

"Oh, Congratulations!" Clio screamed excitedly. "Vivian, you're so lucky! I knew this day had to come soon or later!"

"Um. Thanks, I guess?" Vivian shyly answered with a small giggle, trying to look at us.

"U-um...w-would you mind letting us go? I-I need to breathe!" Desmond was barely gasping for air.

"No! No! No! I won't let you both go or you might end up breaking up! Eek!" Clio was really in a good mood.

It took a while, but James and I struggled to help set the three of them free. Clio had finally drained most of her morning energy when she finally let them go, causing her legs to go all wobbly. James and I left Vivian and Desmond behind to help Clio to her classroom. Her classroom is on the second floor, next to James' classroom for the first lesson. Thankfully her seat was just on the right side as you enter through the door, she slowly made her way to the chair.

"Phew! I've never thought that I'd waste all of my energy just being happy for someone else." Clio takes out her handkerchief and dabs off her face. "But it's really worth the watch, for me that is."

"I still don't get it though. What were you congratulating them for? All Desmond did was give her a bouquet." James scratched the back of his head.

"You still didn't understand?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Oh, James! Desmond just confessed his love for her to HER! Now do you get it?"

"Just like how Mom and Dad did!" I exclaimed. "Only, it was more of 'Love at First Sight'."

I remembered it quite well, the moment Mom tried the shoe onto Dad's foot, the instant their eyes locked together. That was truly beautiful.

"Did Desmond then fell in love at first sight then? We all studied and grew up together for many years, but he only confessed today. Does that make it 'Love at Many Years Later Sight'?"

"There's no such thing, James. But It does have a nice ring to it." Clio giggled.

"Do you remember when Sir Bartleby was in Enchancia to attend for the Shield of Valor Ceremony? He also had a thing for Aunt Tilly at first sight during the rehearsals, but he only told her his feelings at the actual ceremony because he wasn't prepared the first time. It's like that kind of situation."

"Haven't you notice Desmond acting strangely nowadays than when he normally does before?"

I nodded strongly. I noticed a huge abnormality in his behavior, just late to realize it.

"Nope, he's always the same to me."

"Well, that's only because you don't see him with her around. Let me tell you myself what I've seen and analyzed about the whole thing. When we were all still kids, the two of them have never actually talked to each other like how the rest of us always mingle with each other, since they were both shy with everyone. The only time that they actually had a full conversation, was when Vivian joined the school band. Desmond was already in the band to begin with, but he would always stay hidden in the background, like the music he's playing. I was a witness there when Vivian joined the band, and you wouldn't believe how they even started. It was not yet time for the actual practice, so they played a few notes on their own. Desmond was struggling a bit with some parts of the notes for a while. Vivian must've heard his notes of confusion, because then she strummed a few notes on her Mandolin while walking over to his side. He was surprised at first, and a bit panicky of course, but he then realized that she was trying to let him hear which notes or sound it was, and Voila! They played together in synchronization! It was like they really hit it off on a good key.

After they played a bit with the music sheets, they strummed a bit of odd notes on their instruments back and forth to each other. I didn't understand what was going on, until I heard a few notes that were familiar. Have you ever heard 'Solresol'?"

"No. What is this 'Solresol'?" I shook my head gently.

"Is it some sort of song?" James followed. "I figured it might be since we're talking about those two."

"Well...It's not exactly a song. It's a language invented based on piano, but using only the 7 keys of a piano. It was invented for people who wanted to communicate with each other who didn't share the same language. Some of those people are Mute, those who can hear but can't talk at all, while some use it as some sort of code, like in puzzles and stuff. There are different ways to express it; using numbers, shaping with your hands like sign language, colors, saying the first two or three letters of each note and combining them into words and sentences, or like the way the two of them did: through their instruments. I've only studied a bit on that before, but gave up because I found it confusing. When I watched those two communicate using 'Solresol' through their Mandolin and Accordion, I was really moved. The way they played their notes, the way the sounds make, it was more than a melody; it was a master piece. If you want to know who are the true geniuses, they are the ones that you'll see in my list. They played many notes that I've never even heard or studied before, and that I find it cute. I think it was from then on that he started liking her, not only as a friend, but as a girl.

Whenever there are upcoming events that required the presence of the school band, they would always find time to practice together: during breaks, recesses, or even after school at each others castles. I've never seen them separated when it comes to music. I don't know about you guys, but that is truly a romantic classic! Eek! Eek! EEEK!"

Clio was squealing with excitement so much that I can't help but feel a smile growing on my face. It's true though, what she said about the after school part. There are times that when I wanted to go visit Vivian at her castle, she would say that she was having music practices with Desmond. I used to think that it was normal since they're in the same band, so they would need to practice with each other even outside of the school band if they want to get comfortable in a different surrounding, and Vivian's music room was the perfect place to do so. Now that I understand a little bit of Desmond's actions, I kinda wanna hold a small celebration for the two of them too. I think Clio had rubbed a bit of her excitement onto me.

"Thank you. See you later."

We heard someone just behind us talked and turned to look. It was Vivian, holding her rose bouquet on one hand and the other waving out the door, walking into the classroom. We all smiled at her sudden appearance. She sees us and shyly waves at us, knowing what we were smiling about and came over to us.

"H-hi." Her face redden even harder. "Oh gosh. It's so embarrassing."

"Don't worry, Vivian. It's nice to have really happy moments like these, even if it is embarrassing." Clio seemed recharged. "Because it will always make you happy whenever you recall them, especially the ones that will carve into your heart"

"Hehe. Thank you, Clio."

"It kinda looks like Clio is the one in love though, suddenly filled with energy when you couldn't even stand on your feet." James smirked. "I still don't understand any of this though. Does it only happen to shy people? Or does it happen to everyone?"

"James! Really?!" Clio snapped her fan at him. "If you're saying things like that, it just means you haven't matured yet! Only boys like you asks these kinds of questions."

"I hope you'll be happy always." I whisper to Vivian and gave her a hug while the two of them bicker at each other. "Make sure not to lose it."

"I won't." Vivian whispers back, returning the hug.

"Hey! Who are you calling 'Immature'?" James started getting annoyed.

"I only said the fact. Otherwise you wouldn't even be asking any of this. Come argue with me when you've finally fallen in love." Clio turned away with crossed arms.

"Heh! Who needs to learn about this 'Love' business anyway? As long as I'm happy with my life I don't need anything else." James says and walks off out of the classroom. I assume he'll be going to his classroom, for Fencing.

"You didn't have to argue with him. He's just enjoying his time while he's still a Prince." I said.

"Sofia. Love's got nothing to do with time. It just comes and goes naturally in your life whether you expect it or not. It also doesn't have anything to do with age. Whether you're a King or Queen, a Prince or Princess, a Butler or a Maid, or just any common folk, as long as you feel your heart starts beating like crazy, whether it's for yourself, or for someone else, as long as your feelings are really strong, then you are in love! 'Certified'!" Clio fingers quoted strongly.

Vivian and I giggled.

"Now how am I supposed to keep these from withering though? The nearest washroom is downstairs, and the class is about to start soon." Vivian looked at her bouquet.

All of a sudden a regular sized blue vase appeared in front of us. I took hold of it and saw some water already filled halfway inside it.

"You can use this."

We looked up and saw Ms. Merryweather hovering over us.

"A beautiful bouquet given with love should be taken care with love as well, and I can see that you care more of the heart of the person who gave you this bouquet than your own, Princess Vivian."

"Thank you very much, Ms. Merryweather."

Vivian slowly unwraps the bouquet and the three of us carefully put each rose into the vase. Ms. Merryweather goes to one of the classroom's windows and cleans the ledges. We finished filling up the vase and Vivian carries it over to the window, while Clio and I carefully neatly fold up the wrapping and tie it with its ribbon.

"Nothing like a bit of water and sunshine to help give these roses a bit more glow and life." Ms. Merryweather said with delight. "You should go find Ms. Fauna later and ask how to preserve these flowers. Gardening isn't my best trait."

"Okay. Thank you again." Vivian curtsied.

"Oh well. I'd better get to class, or I'll be late." I said as I greeted goodbye to everyone.

My classroom is on the first floor, so I hurried down the two front sets of stairs. I arrived at my classroom and found Amber already there in her seat.

"Oh, when did you arrive, Amber?"

"Just a few minutes ago. Where were you?" She was fanning herself.

"Just upstairs with Vivian and Clio. Did Hildegard go through the back stairs? I didn't see her on the way coming down the front." I walked over to the seat next to Amber's, which is beside the window.

"Yeah. Zandar was asking her a few things earlier when we saw each other near the green house."

"Ah. Okay." I smiled widely.

"Hm?" Amber looks at me with a raised brow. "You're smiling more than usual. Did something good happen?"

"How could you tell?" I tried to calm myself by putting my hands on my cheeks.

"I should. We're sisters after all." She says.

"I'll tell you later. It's a long story."

"Deal." She says and opens her bag to get her books out.

I turned my bracelet into a wand and summoned for the box. I took out my three dictionaries, my quill pen set, and four books. Our desks have compartments inside so that we can put things inside and that our working space wouldn't get messy and crowded. I placed everything inside my desk. I summoned my box away and let my wand remain as is it, since it is Sorcery class after all, and we're going to have a test today.

Ms. Fauna arrives in the classroom a little later and we begin our class with a small test. We were tested on how we can make a magically bubble and use a counter-spell to pop. These are one of the spells that I remember and hate to recall. I encountered these when I was still starting out. The headmistresses had invited a former fairy apprentice to school, Miss Nettle, to hold an extra curricular class about Enchanted Gardening. Her main goal was to steal a Spell book that the Headmistresses have and become the most powerful fairy in the world, and she took all of their wands and used the bubble spell to trap the Headmistresses inside to prevent them from stopping her. Desmond, James and I were the only ones attending the class that day, and helped find the Spell book, saved the Headmistresses by using the counter-spell to pop the bubble, and stopped Miss Nettle from causing anymore harm and trouble. I haven't seen her around the campus, until later on, which is another story.

I successfully passed the test, with ease and confidence as always. The class ended and I summoned my box again and put everything away, then turned my wand back into a bracelet again.

"You're really good with the wand, Sofia."

Princess Mae was standing at the side of Amber.'s desk, applauding with grace.

I always love the pink dress that she wears, along with her fedora, which is what you call her hat. It suits her like her personality inside and out. The way she dresses herself isn't too complicated, and always seems refreshingly soft to admire at.

"Thank you, Mae. How did you both do on the test by the way?"

"I pass, as always." Amber waving her wand.

"I did alright, I guess. I don't have to master my skills on magic, all I just really need to do is study hard for the sake of my country. We already have many talented Sorcerers in our kingdom, but we are lacking the knowledge need on the side of our country's economy. I'm not saying that we're poor, but we're just strategically poor." Mae says.

"That is a tough case." I said.

"Wanna join us, Mae? Sofia still has yet to tell me what was making her so unusually happy that happened earlier this morning. We can go sit by the fountain." Amber suggested.

"I'd love to." Mae clasped her hands together.

We went through the hallway to the back of the stairs, where it also leads out to the green house. The fountain is also next to the enchanted wing set, where James did a prank on me by making me ride on it and landed squarely in the fountain on my first day of school. I will never forget that prank, and that Enchanted Swing Set of course, and I've been avoiding it ever since.

We arrived at the fountain, and I sat on the edge of the fountain, a little further away from the swing. Mae sat in the middle and Amber on the other side. I told them about what had happened this morning, from when Desmond arrived, to when we ended up in the classroom upstairs. I left out the part where James argued with Clio though, for the sake of his pride.

"Wow. Who knew Desmond was that kind of boy?" Mae was astonished.

"It can only mean one thing, girls." Amber opens her fan and covers half of her face. "We are no longer children anymore. We're turning into _adults_."

"Adults." Mae and I said unison.

I've always known that I'm not a child anymore, but every time I hear the word 'Adult', everything in the world starts to flicker in your mind, including the words 'Difficulty', 'Responsibility', and 'Grown Up'. I glanced slightly at Mae, but her reaction seems different than mine, more serious actually.

"What is it?" Mae notices me.

"It's just...you don't seem delighted." I state the obvious.

"Is it about the 'Adult' part? Or was it anything I said?" Amber shuts her fan and looks worried. "I apologize, Mae, I-."

"It's not about that." Mae says looking down. "It's about Vivian and Desmond. I'm kind of...well...jealous, I guess."

"Huh?" Amber and I looked at each other in confusion. "Jealous?" and in unison.

"Remember earlier how I said that I have to study hard for the sake of my country? Well, I will soon govern not only my country, but also Frederick's country."

"Why do you need to do both?" I asked.

"Both...both...both?...Oh-My-Gosh!" Amber's expression had changed. "Don't tell me you're...you're-"

"Our parents had arranged us to be engaged when we were younger, and we'll be officially engaged as soon as Frederick graduates from school. I learned of this from my parents when Frederick had transferred classes." Mae nodded.

Prince Frederick, another one of the princes who is an only child in his family. I hardly get to talk to him. According to James, Fredrick's very wise, kind, humble, and great at sword fencing. He just works too hard that he's hardly seen doing anything else other than studying and fencing. He does join in some of the festivities that the school holds, but other than that, he's still a mystery to me.

"Oh my." I said. I took her hand closer to me and held them in both my hands. "Are you alright with it?

"Couldn't you just back out of it?" Amber did the same with Mae's other hand. "You've got every right to do so."

"Thank you. I really appreciate your concerns, girls." She says and gently pulls back her hands. "But I don't mind. I think it is better this way, you know."

"How is this better?" Amber's expression can really switch with a snap of the fingers. "Don't you want to have a chance of falling in love? The experience to feel what it's like when your heart floats and your body feeling all light that you might float away?"

"I didn't say I didn't want to experience it. I don't really hate Frederick, since he's also in a tight spot like I am. He's never been mean to me, and he does often talk to me-"

"Talk to you? Now that's a rare thing to hear." Amber cuts in.

"I know he doesn't look like the type to mingle with others, or to stop to engage a word or two, but he's really a good listener and has many interesting topics to share with. If you ask me, I'd rather stay with him because my parents knows him very well, rather than fall in love with someone else who my parents don't know well enough that might hurt my emotionally and physically. It's better than having chances on getting your heart broken and hurt. There are some people who never gets to be with the person they're in love with, and chances are when they confess to their desired person, they end up getting rejected, and become sad. On really bad cases, become depressed and end up viewing everything negatively, and never giving themselves another chance, maybe even going as far as to committing suicide. I'm just glad that the person that I'm going to get engaged to is someone I know from a young age, and trust as a good friend."

"Getting engaged to someone who you don't love, but as a friend, maybe something that I might not understand at all." I said with concern.

"Even if you did get married to him, you might never even get to loved at all." Amber says.

"True. I might never get to be loved, but the worse case would be if it is someone whom you don't know at all. That would be absolutely terrifying."

"True." Amber agrees right away. "Or someone who you really don't like or hate with all your might."

"Exactly." Mae says.

It is true that you can't really get the happiness that you want, or the person you want the most to be with you, but every person in the world at least has one destined partner in their life, that's at least what I believe.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" a horrifying voice screamed.

We turned around to find who the horrid cries belongs to, and see Prince Jin running running from the entrance of the back stairs, to the small bridge that leads into a small forest. His face isn't clearly visible, but you could tell that it was him from his Asian styled clothing.

"Wait! Jin!"

Another person comes running, and but finally slows down to catch their breath. It was Princesses Jun, Jin's sister. She's very charming and takes everything very seriously, when necessary. She's very talented in Fan fluttering and studies very hard. Her head piece is what intrigues me the most, 'cause it looks heavy than a regular head band, but it still manages to stay on her head. Maybe there are hair pins all over it attached to her head.

"What happened?" I said as Mae and I quickly went to help her up.

"Why is Jin running and screaming like that?" Amber asks, while fanning Jun to give her more oxygen.

"I told him some things and that made him quite upset. I can't really blame him for it, but I didn't think he would also end up running off too. I have to get him back, before the next class begins." Mae dabs her face with her handkerchief hidden in her sleeves. If you ask me, that sleeve is the best weapon a magician would ever need to store his rabbits in.

"And soon!" Mae says as she pointed at the clock tower.

The next class begins at 10 o'clock, and according to the clock tower, we've only got 5 minutes left.

"I'll go look for him." I volunteered.

"No, Sofia. It's my fault, so I should look for him." Jun attempts to run, but I stop her by holding her down.

"You need to catch your breath, and Jin's probably still upset by whatever you said to him." Amber said. It hurts, but it was the truth. "Mae and I will take you back inside to the classroom. I'm sure Sofia can find him." Amber nods at me, signaling me to go.

I nodded and took off in the direction where I last saw Jin running. I should know what the small forest's like since I've been here once. It was right after I had landed into the fountain and came here to dry off, as well as to hide my embarrassment from everyone else. It was also here that I helped a baby bird back with its mom after falling off from its nest.

I searched in every area that I could think that he would be able to hide in, even in those sharp and very thorny bushes. The forest isn't that big, but there were so many places that you could hide in, even in our grown up bodies. I decided to take a breather by a tree when something wet like droplets of rain fell on the top of my hand. I thought it might rain, so I looked up to check the sky for any clouds, and there he was, Jin sitting up high on one of the branches of the tree that I'm resting at.

"Jin!" I shouted out to him. "Jin! Please come down! Jin!"

"No!" He says. "I don't want to go down!" You could still hear him crying. "I'm not leaving from this spot!"

"C'mon, Jin! Please come down! Or you'll be late for class!"

"I don't want to go to class! Not ever again!" He was crying even more.

Something must really be wrong. Normally Jin wouldn't get upset that easily, nor cry at all. I don't mind if boys need to cry for a reason, but this seems very painful to just stand by to watch.

"Could you at least come down from there?! Just sit here where I am! I don't want you to fall and get injured! I'd never be able to face your sister or your family if anything ever happened to you."

Jin looks down at me. He nods and carefully climbs down the tree. When he got down, I could see that both his eyes were really red and puffy, so much that I don't think a day's rest would be enough to remove those redness.

"Would you like to sit down with me? Until you feel like going back?" I said as I sat at the foot of the tree, patting the space next to me.

"But...but you'll be late for your class." He said while wiping his tears.

"A princess always helps anyone who is in need, even if it means giving up something that is very important to you." It was a very important quote that I learned during one of my Princess tests.

"Well...if you say so." He says and sits down next to me, his bottom on the roots of the trees and his legs arched. "Thanks, Sofia."

"Anything for a friend." I handed him my handkerchief and sat quietly.

The clock tower had started ringing, but I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. I calmly listened to the sounds that were filling up the forest's atmosphere: the chirping from the birds, the insects creaking, the breeze that calmly blows in the air and through my hair.

"How melodious." I unconsciously said without thinking.

"Huh?...Oh, you mean the forest atmosphere? Yup, it sure is." Jin sounded a little calmer. "I'm sorry that you're missing out on your class for my sake. I'll make sure to pay back the favor."

"No worries. It's just a regular class. I'm little worried about you though. Won't you get into deep trouble for not attending such an important class?"

"Sigh. If only that's the only problem I have to face."

"Would you mind telling me what's going on? Unless it's too personal or-"

"It's alright. I'll tell you. It might help me ease my mind if someone else listened." Then he wrapped his knees close to chest with his arms. "It's like this, Sofia. You know how as a member of an Imperial family, such as the first son, must always be wed and have children in order for the family name and line to continue, right? I have accepted this tradition and promised to follow it, and my parents were really glad about it."

"That's a heavy burden to follow."

"Oh it is. Just now Jun went over to my classroom and wanted to tell me something that my parents only told her about. She said that I deserve to know since it was about me and she didn't want to keep me in the dark." He took a deep breath. "She told me that my parents had arranged my engagement, YESTERDAY!"

"REALLY?!" I said, bursting. "Oh, Jin! Congratulations!...uh...Did Jun tell you who your bride is?"

"What's there to congratulate about?! I don't even know who it is! The fact that my parents arranged it behind my back and not telling me is really not cool! They just ruined my trust!"

I didn't think this would be a topic that I'd hear very soon. An arranged marriage with an unknown person, and only your parents knows who it is. Now that's sad.

"Jin. Maybe instead of rushing everything around, you should go talk to your parents and work it out."

"What?! Are you sure you know what you're saying?"

"Well, you said that they listened to you when you said that you'd promise to get married for traditions, right? Maybe they'll also listen to you again with this matter. Your mother is a good listener. Maybe you might be able to ask her and know the reasons behind your parent's actions. Who knows? It might work."

Jin had his hair grown long, and it was until his waist, braided. It was hanging in the front, and he was playing with its ends while he seemed to thinking on the consideration. It took a while, he then had a look of determination when he finally made a decision. He then stood up like a spring, with his hand turned into a tight fist.

"Okay, Sofia. You've convinced me. I'll give it a shot. I'll go home right away after school and ask my parents straight away." He looked at me with determination.

"Glad to hear it." I put my hands together. "Don't forget, where there's a will there's a way, as long as you've got hope."

I attempt to stand up, then I saw Jin's hand already in front of me, ready to assist me. I held it and he gave me a yank, but he yanked me really hard, that I ended up standing, then landed on his chest, and we both landed on the ground with me on top of him.

"Oops! I must be heavy." I said in embarrassment.

"No, no! I kinda tugged too much." Jin also seems flustered. "Let me try that again, with less force of course."

I got off of him and squatted. He stood up, and this time he gently pulled me up by letting me hold onto his arm. Then we patted the dirt off of our own clothes that got caught onto us when we fell.

"All done!" I said. "So, you still want to go to class?"

"Yeah, right after I escort you back to yours first. I better start behaving like a good prince if I want my parents to change their minds. Shall we?"

He held out his right arm, beckoning me to hold onto it. I silently accepted it and wrapped my left arm around it. We took our time getting out of the small forest, over the small bridge, and into the school building. We walked along the corridor and finally arrived at the door of my classroom. He knocked three times, and the door magically opened. We see Ms. Flora at the Teacher's desk. I forgot that I had Etiquette class.

"There you are, Princess Sofia." Ms. Flora didn't seem at all cross. "And you've found Prince Jin."

"Sorry if I've caused any trouble." Jin let my arm go, placed both of his arms at his sides and bowed deeply, more than a 90 degree angle. I guess this is how they bow in Wei-Ling.

"Jin!"

Jun started running from her desk and hugged Jin, so tight that you think she might choke him to death.

"Jin! Don't you ever run off like that!" She started crying huge tears. "Don't you know how worried I was?"

"I'm sorry." Was all Jin could say to her as he stroked her back to calm her down.

I carefully walked pass them and over to Ms. Flora.

"I'm sorry I missed most of your class, Ms. Flora. I should've found him sooner-"

"It's alright, Sofia. As long as you both are back safe and unhar-ARM! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARM?!" Ms. Flora pointed at me looking horrified.

I looked at my right arm and there was a large cut from my elbow going down asymmetrically to the back of my hand.

"I must've gotten it when I was looking amongst the bushes." I traced my finger along the dried cut. "It's not a deep cut, more of a long scratch. I'll be fine."

"No! No! No!" Jin says as he breaks free from Jun's embrace and takes a hold of my arm to examine it. "You wouldn't have gotten this scratch if I hadn't ran into the forest in the first place. Here, I'll take care of this right now."

He takes out a small pouch from one of his sleeves. It was a golden colored pouch, with a dragon design done in black embroidery stitches, the head in the front, and the tail at the back. He opened it and took out some small items: a small bottle with a cork, a few meters of bandage cloth, some cotton balls, a small bowl and a smaller white cloth ball like object, and places them on the Teacher's desk. He uncorks the small bottle, pours some of it into the small bowl, rubs some onto his hands, and takes a cotton ball and pours another bit of the liquid into it.

"This is made of three-quarters of Alcohol and a quarter of water, so it might sting the cut a little bit." Jin explains as he dabs the soaked cotton onto the scratch.

After he finished dabbing, he sets asides the used cotton to one side of the table and puts back the cork into the small bottle. Next he opens the smaller cloth ball like object. He unwraps the first white cloth, then opens the other white cloth, and inside reveals some kind of green mashed up contents.

"Hold it!" Amber shouts and comes to examine it. She touches it with her fingers. "Is this...some sort of seaweed?"

"Close. It's actually Agrimonia leaves. The leaves of this plant almost looks similar to the Mimosa Pudica, or also called the Shy plant, but with less slits in the leaves. It has many properties: lots of vitamins, suitable for anti-inflammatory sicknesses, and also best for healing external wounds, such as skin diseases, scars, as well as sores in the mouth like sore throat, which you have to gargle of course. It can also be used in magic, for neutralizing spells. I always crush some of these in the morning before I leave for school, because I always end up having scratches and cuts on my body for no apparent reason whenever I'm outside of home."

I watched him as he holds the small bowl and mixes some of the crushed leaves into it, resulting into like some kind of green paste. Using his fingers, he takes a little bit of paste and massages onto the scratch a bit at a time. I could feel some kind of menthol like effect cooling my arm, kinda tingly. After he had rubbed enough, he puts the rest of the paste and covers the scratch like a long toothpaste, and wraps them together with the long bandage cloth around my arm, from top to bottom, to the back of my hand. It wasn't too tight or lose, enabling me to still move my arm around freely as I demonstrate by twirling around.

"It's brilliant!" I said.

"Don't forget to clean it before you go to bed. Here, take my pouch." Jin said as he handed to me his gold pouch with everything back inside. "You'll need some of those leaves again. I have another pouch anyway."

"Aw. Thank you, Jin!" I said with a hug.

At the same time the clock tower had rung, which means that class was over for the morning.

"Sigh. I better face Sir Gilliam now, or I'll be in more trouble later." Jin shoulders had dropped deeply.

"I'll go explain with you." Ms. Flora pats on his hat. "Class dismissed. Take care of yourself, Sofia."

All of us in the class bowed and curtsied goodbye and watch the two of them leave the room. Amber, Jun and Mae immediately rushed over to me.

"So how does it feel?" Amber held up my arm.

"It's fine. The leaves make me feel all tingly 'cause of the menthol effect its giving off onto my scratch."

"I should've gone with you, at least you wouldn't have to look into the bushes yourself." Mae's eyes were all watery.

"And let you end up with scratches too? No way. It's best that only I have them. More than one of us and we'll make all of the teachers in this school go into a panic frenzy." I smiled to reassure her.

"On my brother's behalf, I apologize and thank you, Sofia." Jun bowed the same way Jin did earlier. "I don't know how you did it, but I'm grateful for having a friend like you to help us out."

"Aw. It was nothing." I gestured her to stand up. "By the way, your brother's is really good at this. Does he want to be a doctor or something?"

"Not really. It's just that he's been healing and patching up his wounds for so many years, that he's gotten really good at it. Like he said earlier, he never knows where he gets the scratches and cuts, so he always have to bring a small medicinal kit with him. I even used to have one of my own, but I'm less clumsy than him so I never bring it with me." Then she takes out something out of her sleeve and puts it into my left palm. "Please take it as a token of my appreciation."

It was a long hair stick that she sometimes has on her hair when she's not wearing her comb with some rose designs on it, or the big head piece. It is pointy at one end, and there's a five petaled pink flower with dangling beads as accents on the other end. It looks delicate, but it feels very sturdy.

"I'll do it on your hair for you. Try to remember how I do it so you can do it, too."

Jun gathers all of my hair with just her hands, then she starts twisting my hair clockwise, tightening the twist until it can hold into a bun. I could feel the hair stick poking in and out of the bun, and it was just effortless and comfortable.

"Done! It really suits you, Sofia. I think I should get you more of our kingdom's accessories."

"That's okay, Jun. This one's enough."

Mae had a small compact mirror and opened it to let me see, and I was really happy with the way it turned out. Simple, but elegant.

"Thank you, Jun."

"You're welcome. Oh! I better check up on my brother. Sir Gilliam might be furious with him." She quickly bowed goodbye and dashed off like a mouse with her small quick footsteps.

"One of the seven wonders of the world; her small agile feet." Amber was the only one who would say something like that.

Mae and I both nodded.

We all went to have our lunches with everyone in the main dining hall. We usually sit at the table at the back of the dining hall because it's the biggest table that could fit ten people, five on each side. We lined up along the food showcases and choose our food and got our glasses. At our table, we see that everyone else was already seated: Maya, Clio, and Hildegard are on the left side; Khalid, James, and Zandar are on the other. I decided to take a sit along the boys' row, and was about to greet Zandar when I see Frederick sitting next to him. I almost dropped my tray in surprise. He notices me and pauses on his food.

"Oh. H-hello, Prince Frederick." I curtsied still holding my tray with both hands. "Do you mind if I take the seat next to you?"

"Oh. Go ahead." He says and puts down his utensils. "Hold on a minute."

He stands up and takes the tray from my hands. He places it down and pulls up the chair.

"Please sit." He said.

"Oh. Uh. Thank you, Frederick."

I said nervously and sat down without a hunch. Once he made sure he got me seated he got the folded napkin on my tray and opened it as he handed it to me. Then he sat down in his chair and continued eating from where he left off.

I looked at Mae giving her my astonished expression. She smiled continued eating. As I began eating my food, I could feel the atmosphere emitting from Frederick. It wasn't a strange, but it felt sort of calm, and I mean really calm, as if time would slow down to flow along with him if given a chance. I stole a glance at him, eating in silence, his utensils not making any sounds against each other, and the way he chews his food is motionless. You wouldn't notice if he's even eating at all. His eyes then instantly shot at mine, almost giving me a heart attack.

"Something on my face?" He says in calm tone.

"N-Nope! Everything's fine." I quickly turned to my food and stuffed some vegetables into my mouth. "Tuh-day's luh-onch is muh-hach beh-tah, isn't it?"

"If you say so, I think it's the same as always." He says and continues to eat his meal.

Wow. Mae maybe onto something. I tried to make eye contact with Mae, and she seems to be watching the whole time. So I gestured with my head tilting at Frederick, and gave a solid thumbs up with my right hand while holding my knife. She smiled.

"Where's Vivian? Isn't she supposed to be with us?" Zandar asks.

"If you're looking for her, better do so after they're finished." Clio says while using her knife to point backwards.

We all looked at where the knife is pointing, and through the window we could see Vivian and Desmond having lunch outside, under a tree, in the shade and sitting on a large blanket. They're not eating the food from the cafeteria, but sandwiches.

"Sandwiches?" Hildegard saud. "It's more like they're having a picnic than lunch to me."

"I wonder why they're eating together outside." Maya says after swallowing her food down.

"Oh. You didn't know?" Clio says with a delighted tone. "They officially became an item this morning."

"Pfffffffffth! WHAT?!"

Zandar, Khalid, Maya and Hildegard were all in shock that all of them had chocked and splattered out their drinks, turning the table cloth into a weird piece of art. They all shouted and coughed at the same time. I don't think I'll ever see them this surprised again.

"Geez! Guys!" James had used his tray as a shield. "Do it on the floor next time."

"How-!" Hildegard went.

"Who-!" Maya followed.

"Why-?!" Zandar and Khalid last.

"Desmond confessed, alone together, by the power of his love for her. Do you guys get it?" Clio was waving her fork around in the air in small circles like a wand.

You could hear everyone on the table whispering to each other, some looking shocked, delighted, concerned, and confused. Only Mae and Frederick were silent and just kept on eating their meals. It kinda feels like I'm blocking the connection of their telepathic conversation. I quickly ate the rest of my plate and left the table quietly. I brought my plate to the window counter where we are supposed to drop off our dirty trays and dishes.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Zandar appeared next to me with his tray of dirty dishes.

"Oh, Zandar. I was planning to visit Minimus at the stables, before lunch period is over."

"Do you mind if I go with you? I'd like to have a closer look at the famous winning horse."

"Uh...sure?"

Prince Zandar from the kingdom of Tangu, also known as James' best friend. Just like me, he was also one of James' victims who rode on the Enchanted swing on the first day of school. It seemed to me that that prank got them closer together. He is always one to impress everybody with new things and interesting attractions whenever he invites some of us to visit his kingdom on Play dates, like letting us ride flying magic carpets, watch elephants dancing both down on the ground and up in the air, and the kinds of music that are being played there.

"By the way, nice hair stick." Zandar checked out my hair. "Did you do this?"

"No. Jun did it for me. She gave me the hair stick as a gift and did my hair for me."

"You always look great, no matter what hairstyle you arrange on you."

"Thank you." I blushed a little. It felt nice to receive such a comment.

We left the others at the cafeteria quietly and headed towards the stables where our school's Derby team horses are. I'm also part of the school's Derby team, and my partnered horse Minimus. When I first met him he was different from the other horses; he was half the size of all the other flying horses, always worrying about everything, and has not much confidence in himself. Over the last ten years that I've been with him as his rider, the only changes that he had, was that he grew taller by about 5 inches on each of his legs. I think it's great that he grew a bit, because I might be too heavy for of him to even get off of the ground now that I'm a little grown up, which also means a little heavy for Minimus.

We arrived at the stables and see Sir Gilliam feeding some hay to the horses near the entrance.

"Good day, Sir Gilliam." I greeted loudly and curtsied. "Pardon our intrusion."

"Hello, Sir Gilliam." Zandar says with a quick bow.

"Huh? Oh. Hello, Princess Sofia. Prince Zandar." Sir Gilliam says and tosses the rest of the hay in his hand into the feeding area of the horse's stall.

"I'd like to apologize for Prince Jin's absence in your class earlier today." I bowed my head a little.

"Oh. No worries, Princess. I heard from Prince Jin and Ms. Flora about what you did. I give you my thanks for finding him." He bowed with style, his right leg in front of the other.

"No problem."

"So what brings you both here at this time?"

"We'd just like to visit Minimus, if that's alright."

"Ooh, not at all! Go on right ahead. You know where he's stall is, right?" He bows a little gesturing that we were allowed to pass through. "Just be careful not to slip on the floor. The stable cleaners had just finished cleaning up the place and all of the horses had just taken their baths."

The floor was still a little watery, and there were no scattered hay left on the floor. Some of the horses had just got their mane trimmed and their tails brushed. I could see in one corner some damaged horseshoes piled up in a small crate, meaning the horses had all changed their shoes.

"Alright. Thank you." I curtsied.

"Thanks." Zandar says.

Zandar strides to my side as we carefully walked across the floor so that we wouldn't slip.

"You do know that you don't have to curtsy unless they're royalty, right?" He whispers.

"I know. I'm just doing it out of respect, since he is one of our teachers who have been taking care of us over the years."

"Speaking of years, how old do you think he is anyway? He was still around when our parents attended school here too."

"I'd...rather not think about it."

Then we heard Sir Gilliam sneeze loudly.

"Oh. I wonder if I'm catching a cold?" He outs his palm over his forehead. "Nope, no fever. Must be the hay flying in the air."

"Oops." Zandar and I giggled.

Minimus' stall was further inside since he liked being in the warmest part of the stable. It also meant that when the food gets passed around, he would always be the last one to get it and have all of remaining feed of the day's batch. Such a glutton.

"Hi, Minimus!" I stood in front of his stall.

"Oh, Sofia! Ah-theoui!" He spat out some old feathers from his mouth.

Minimus is maintaining his feathers in his wings. His wings had started shedding lately, which is kind of a little late for a flying horse. He found it quite irritating to his skin so he's been cleaning his wings to avoid having rashes.

"Still shedding?" I asked and petted his head.

He nodded.

"He can shed?" Zandar was curious. "Are you sure he's not a reptile?"

"No, I'm sure. It's common for flying horses to shed from time to time. Minimus here is just late, and so he's gonna be at it for a while. See his wings." I pointed at the wings. "They shouldn't look so damp. All of the horses just had a bath, and their wings are usually the first parts to dry. Minimus' wings look like they're in a plaid pattern, which shouldn't be the case. If you should follow a color chart, the darkest color should be the oldest, while the brightest is the newly grown ones."

"Wow. You really know your horse." Zandar says and pets Minimus on the head. "You're lucky to have such a great and caring rider."

Minimus neighs in response.

"'I'll assume that's a 'Yes'. Haha." Zandar lets out a few laughs.

"I have to know about these things if I want to keep Minimus in good condition, whether to prepare him for a race or just bring him out for a run."

I turned my bracelet to a wand and summoned out my box. I took out a basket with a cloth covering on top and summoned the box away.

"What's that you've got there?" Zandar tries to look into the basket.

I took off the cloth and showed him that it was full of carrots.

"Would you like to feed him some?"

"Really? I'd be glad to."

He takes a carrot out of the basket and approaches Minimus. With the carrot in one hand, Minimus delightedly took a bite, while the other hand petting him on the head.

"Thanks, Sofia." Minimus whispers to me while chewing.

Zandar and I continued to feed him until the basket was emptied. I summoned my box again and put the basket inside.

"By the way, that's a really good trick you've got there." Zandar commented.

"Oh. The box? I was taught by our royal sorcerer since I didn't want to get another new and bigger bag when I have so many smaller ones that I have yet to use. I can't imagine myself looking like a turtle, carrying a small house-backpack on me."

"More of a camping bag if you ask me."

We both giggled.

"Maybe I could fit my bedroom inside of it?" I giggled.

"Probably."

I then summoned the box away and turned my wand back into a bracelet.

"By the way, I hope you don't mind, but I'd like you to hear me out on something." Zandar looked serious.

"What is it?" I was preparing for the worse.

"What do you...what do you think of Hildegard?"

"...huh?!" I couldn't help but be astonished. I could feel my eyes starting to pop.

"Please don't look like that. It's...it's kind of hard to even open this conversation to you." He looked so worried.

"Alright, alright." I said and took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm ready. So...what about Hildegard?"

"Well...you know...how I've kind of been studying really really hard lately? I'm trying my best to become the best prince in order to serve my kingdom better, improve the people's livelihood and help the poor who are suffering on the streets to get back on their feet. What I'm trying to say, is that Hildegard seemed only interested in marrying someone who is powerful in both position, wealth, and in knowledge."

"Really? I don't think so." I said my chance to give my own opinions.

"Just let me explain some more. Both her parents are rich and powerful on their own before they got married, and Hildegard wants to follow their footsteps and be just as powerful, so that she can run her kingdom without a bump. As you know, she's the only child left unmarried in her family. If she wants to remain in power, she has to marry someone either from her kingdom who is really wealthy and wise, or a prince from another country who can easily impress her."

"Ooh! That's why you've been studying so hard!"

"I've been studying not only the things that concerns my kingdom, but all of things of each of the other kingdoms and countries. I want to become the wisest person, and maybe then I might have a chance to win her hand. I...I don't want other guys to try and get her. They might not know her as much as I do and attempt to corrupt her and her kingdom."

I knew that he liked to impress Hildegard, but to strive really hard to win the girl that you really like, that's really remarkable.

"Please don't tell anyone, especially James. I don't want to get teased and mocked for trying very hard."

"Don't worry. I promise not to tell a soul." I held up my right hand to pledge.

"Thank you, Sofia. Since you heard me out, could you...you know...help me with one thing?"

"Anything. Just name it."

"...Could you try into getting Hildegard to notice me, even just a little? It-it doesn't have to be done right away. You can take you time."

"If you'd like, I could help you get closer to her, even for just a brief moment everyday."

"Wh-...Really?" His eyes had widened.

"Sure, so as long as you do your part properly, then you both will be really close in no time."

"Okay!" Zandar yelled out in rejoice and started jumping all over the stable.

"He really sure does look happy, Sofia." Minimus leaned his head out on top of the stall's door. "I can't believe you guys are already at the age where love is spreading all over the place. The guardian of love must be somewhere nearby, making mischief."

"Oh, Minimus. I don't think they're doing anything." I petted him. "I think it's just part of human nature."

"How about you? Do you have anyone you like or know someone who might have an eye for you?"

"Don't be silly, Minimus. Who would want to like someone like me? I'm not royal in my blood nor in my background history."

"Who said anything about someone needing to have royal blood in them just to be in love or be liked? Take your parents for example, the king married your mother even though she wasn't rich, nor did she have any royal blood in her. He married her because he loves her, didn't he?"

I nodded.

"That prince for example. He likes...what's her name again?"

"Hildegard."

"Right. He likes Princess Hildegard." Minimus pauses for a second. "Wow. Her name matches her difficult personality actually. Anyway, from what I understood from the prince's story, he wants to watch over and take care of Hildegard because he really cares for her, and that itself is his way of showing his love for her."

"But he says he has to study hard and become the top."

"I was getting to that part, Sofia. It's because that's what Hildegard's requirements and standards seems to be for him since he must've known her for a long time. And it's because he understands what is needed to meet her requirements, he is working very hard to achieve it because he loves her. Now do you get it?"

"Oh. I see." I said, but still not satisfied.

"Is there something else that isn't convinced in your mind?"

"There's is one thing. It's about some of my friends' arranged marriage."

"Ah. There's another common topic. Go ahead, Sofia. Hit me with it."

"Alright. There are two cases. The first case is that there are two people who each plan to run their own kingdoms since they are the only child in their family. Their parents have arranged the two of them to get engaged, and for some reason the two of them accepted their engagement to each other when they both found out about it. How can be alright with it?"

"Hmm. This is a hard case. Did one of them saying anything about how they thought about it?"

"The princess did. She says she didn't mind getting engaged to him because he is someone she has known for quite a while, and that is it also a good way to help both of their kingdoms to improve and recover."

"Ahh! So that's it!"

"Uh...what's it?"

"I get it. The both of them aren't getting married out of love for each other, right? Because their love is for their kingdom! It's because they love and care for their people so much they will do everything to achieve their goals. They both know what's in it for each other, and the fact the Princess trusts the Prince is enough for her to know that she'll be in great hands. I'm sure that in due time they will find it in each other to learn to love one another."

"Okay. You're really good at this, Minimus." I stroked him along the back of his neck.

"Oh, that feels nice. Neigh!"

"Haha. Okay, now for the second case. It's also an arranged marriage, and-"

"Wait, I got this. Lemme guess, this one is engaged, but they don't know who they're engaged to, correct?"

"Bingo!"

"That's another common case, especially in the country of Wei-Ling."

"Hey! The one I was going to mention is the Prince from the imperial family of Wei-Ling!"

"Well, that's a case I should probably know the answer to this one. In his case, it's the parents."

"Huh? He's engaged to his parents?"

"No! No! No! What are you thinking, Sofia? I mean it's the parents who are the problem on this issue here. Most of the people in Wei-Ling strongly love to follow traditions and superstitious beliefs, especially families that are high in status and wealth, and some of the beliefs involve extending their family name and a must have son. Am I right so far?"

"Yes."

"Ahem. Alright. The Prince's parents wants what best for him and for the kingdom. They might've known some past stories about unsuccessful marriages and unfaithful spouses, so they are arranging his engagement for him to avoid repeating the same mistakes. However, the Prince might not want to agree with it, and if he's not going to think this thoroughly and properly, he might revolt against his parents and even run away."

"RUN AWAY?!" I yelped and quickly covered my mouth.

"Yup. But this kind of way of engagement is also another story that has been repeated in failure. Some parents solve the problem by force, others just simply disown the child and hopefully the next child in the family takes over the position."

"Oh my goodness." I whispered this time."Even going as far as disowning their own child, just to keep the tradition going? Isn't that cruelty?"

"I'm afraid so, Sofia. Still, we're not sure what that Prince friend of yours is going to do. Hopefully it'll end in a peaceful manner." Minimus says and begins cleaning his wings again. "Ugh! The itchiness is back again!"

"Sofia!" Zandar returns to my side. Exhausted from all the jumping. "Shall we get going? The next class will start soon."

"Oh! It's that time already? Alright, let's go. Bye, Minimus." I petted him on the head.

"Bye. You're a good horse, you know that?" Zandar does the same.

We both also said our goodbyes to Sr Gilliam and left the stables.

"Hey Sofia. When are you going to know your results?"

"Huh? Results? Ah! You mean about my classes?"

"Yeah."

"It should be soon. I wonder if they're going to be announced today?"

As we walked back, a sudden thought hit me. I turned my head to look back at the stables. Where in the world did Minimus ever became so wise about such things?


	2. STF-Teenage Version-Intro Part 2

_**Disclaimer: **Sofia The First Belongs to Disney._

_Comments From the Author:_

I have uploaded the all awaited 2nd part of this intro!~

I'm sure for those who had seen the Preview of this part of the story in my "News & Updates" were dying in pain, waiting for this moment to arrive...

Well...I won't keep you guys any longer...

Remember...My next Preview of the next chapter or part will be posted in my "News & Updates", a week before the 18th next month...

Happy reading everyone! Enjoy the holidays!

This is Natnarf...

_Signing Off!~_

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><p><em><span>Baileywick's POV<span>_

"Baileywick." King Roland called out. "I need your help on this, if you don't mind."

"Not at all, Your Majesty." I said.

We were in the King's study room, where he usually does his official paperwork. I was doing my daily chore, which was maintenance inspection, to ensure that the room is kept clean and organized, as well as to make sure that the paint on the wall isn't cracking. I immediately stopped working and went over to the King's side.

"What seems to be the problem, Your Majesty?"

"This." He says as he hands me a long piece of paper.

It was from the Royal Preparatory Academy, where the children would attend their classes. It is a notice concerning about Princesses Sofia's Class Transferal.

"So what's wrong with it? All you have to do is sign it. Did you loose your quill pen? Please use my spare one."

"No. I have it here in my hand."

I could see his dark magenta quill pen in his hand with its tipped already inked, while some blotches of ink are scattered all over the drafting paper on the writing desk.

"Then...what's the problem?"

"Sigh. I know it's a little late to say this, but I'm having second thoughts about James inheriting the throne."

"Y-you're what?!" I controlled my fists, trying not to crush the paper. "But it's too late to retract James from his classes."

"I know that, and that's where Sofia comes in." He says.

"What do you mean, exactly?"

He puts his quill back into its holder, quietly stands up and strides over to a window ledge, looking out through the window as if he was lost in his own thoughts.

"You've helped raised the three of them since they were young and watched over them while they were growing up, so you would know them better than I do. Tell me, which of them do you think is suitable as the next heir, if you don't consider the rules and traditions? I...I do not want to make the same mistake, like my father did before. I know I can't retract both Amber and James' papers, but I could change my decisions with Sofia's paper. So while there's still a chance, I'd like to try and fix it, even if it'll cause an uproar with everyone."

He was right. I have known the three of them and took care of them all ever since they were crowned as Prince and Princesses of Enchancia: from the day Amber and James were born, and when Sofia had first moved into the castle. It was tough to be their acting father all over again since I had also raised King Roland and Duchess Matilda when they were young. Taking care of the three them is harder as they all have different backgrounds to consider. The twins are just like their father and aunt, only that their personalities are swapped in gender. Sofia is more of like...myself, since we both come with a village background, although none of the children know that.

I kind of understand why Roland would want to reconsider this all over again, since he doesn't want the same thing to happen again like what he went through. Matilda was supposed to be the next heir to the throne, since she was really bright. The only problem was that she didn't like to sit in a chair all day long, even if you strapped her down with ten different types of ropes. She'd still be able to figure a way to free herself. She love having adventures, explore things that have yet to be seen and discovered, and to find the best of the best ingredients around the world to fulfill her true passion: baking pies, apple pies to be exact. King Roland the first, the father of the current king, didn't have it in his heart to keep her tied down from chasing her dreams, and so he made Roland the Second take the crown instead.

I looked down at the paper again as Sofia's name meets my eyes strongly, and pray that I may help give the right words to his troubled decision.

"Alright, Your Majesty. I'll tell you my honest thoughts."

"Good. And don't leave anything out." He says, still looking out through the window.

"I've taken great care of all the three children for as long as they've been around, and as the castle's steward, I've guided them and taught them lessons that helped shaped them into whom they are as of this very day. I have no right to decide who or which of the three are suitable, but I shall list out my observations for each of them. Would you like me to start, Your Majesty?"

He nodded without looking back at me.

"The eldest twin, Princess Amber, beautiful and kind. She is one who cares about her family and friends. She sticks closely and stays by the rules of the castle, and always shows her best face and form to everyone. She is bright and intelligent, honest and very observant. She loves dressing up and hosting tea parties, a perfect example of a Princess who has the skills to always look and dress at her best and ability of organizing eventful Banquets and Balls. She's...she's just like her mother." I paused a bit, remembering how the King's first Queen was like. "However, she...how should I put this?...she...she tends to do too much. Her honesty tends to turn into boastfulness, and her observation tends to make her think too much about how others would think would be the best instead of what they really think. She knows of her own flaws, but she can't control herself as she really loves to express her feelings and receive attention, and will sulk if no praise is received. And her demand for dresses and hosting of parties...are a bit too costly. If she was given a chance to freely host parties, she might do one everyday and we'll be in debt in less than a week."

I paused a bit to see if he will comment on anything, but he remained silent and I decided to continue.

"The younger twin, Prince James, easygoing and very active. He is very helpful and always tends to those who are in need of help or in trouble. He does tend to have a slightly bad habit, which is disobeying the castle rules, such as playing ball inside the castle and talking while his mouth full. He is also very competitive in active activities such as sword fighting and doing Derby flying races, but does seemed to be a little of a bad sport and loves to win, just like Princess Amber. He is a good example when showing concern for others and has qualities in being able to lead in combat fighting, the only problem is...he doesn't like reading much...and loves be adventurous, just like your older sister, Duchess Matilda."

The King's eyes had visibly widen, only just a little bit when his sister's name was mentioned. But he still showed no signs on stopping me.

"And lastly, Princess Sofia, the daughter of the current queen, Queen Miranda. Actually, she is quite a remarkable girl, very kind and is loved by all. She always sees the good in people and ignores their flaws or bad sides, and helping them to bring out the best in them. She always cares over those who are close to her, whether rich or poor, high or low in status, and people of different age and background. She has shown great leadership and other useful skills during her activities as a Buttercup, and even her daily life routine. She is always willing to try out new things, and if she fails the first try, she won't stop until she succeeds or mastered it. I've heard from some of the castle staff that she's also a good cook, good at handy craft work like sewing, and good at sword fighting. I've also recently learned that she's taking up some magic lessons from Cedric from time to time. However, I am quite concerned on how she tends to always be with her animal friends, it's as if as though she could speak to them. It may lead to making people think that she might not be sane. She may not be a perfect princess on the outside, but she has a heart like one on the inside.

So...I think all three of them do qualify for the crown, if the traditions doesn't stand."

I waited, and waited, and waited, until the King finally raises his open hand at me.

"Hand me the paper."

I did so and also handed him his quill. He slowly ticked. Scribbled a few times. Folded the paper.

"Mail this immediately, so that it will arrive at Royal Prep by lunch time."

"As you wish, Your Majesty." I said as I took the folded paper.

I bowed and quietly walked out of his study room. Staring at the paper in my hand, lies the answer to his troubled decision. I pray that my answers to his Majesty would not bring any unforgiving disasters to this royal family's future faith.

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><p><em><span>Sofia's POV<span>_

"What?!" I said in disbelief.

"I'm afraid so. Here, take a look." Ms. Fauna says as she hands me a piece of long paper.

It is now my second class after lunch, and it was also time to announce the results about our transferal. We were asked to wait in the classroom until we were called to go into the next classroom that was vacant individually. I was the last one to be called, and for a very good reason.

"'A candidate for the throne'?" I read out the words written on the paper. No mistake, it was definitely Dad's handwriting. "I don't...understand."

"I'd also like an explanation to that as well, but for the time being, I'll transfer you to the Advanced Princess Course. I'm sure you know by now what kind of classes it consists of, and I hope you're ready for them until we get a clear answer from the King himself." Ms. Fauna said as I handed her back the long paper.

She then hands me an envelope sealed with a Royal Prep stamp wax, and a small broach like pin. I took a closer look at the pin: it was a small golden tiara, and it seemed to be made out of real gold.

"Always wear this on you when you attend your classes from now on, and be careful not to loose it. And please take this note. Make sure you give it the King tonight and have it returned tomorrow."

"Alright, Ms. Fauna." I said. I hid the broach in my small hidden pocket of my dress.

We both left the vacant classroom and went back to the classroom where the others are. I returned to my desk and stared hard at the envelope in my hands. I was more scared than excited, worried even. What was Dad thinking when he signed my paper? Why did he write those things? Did he perhaps mistake my paper for James' paper? That must be it. I must make sure that I give this note to Dad as soon as I get home.

"So, did you get your badge, Sofia?" Amber ushered me who was holding her broach pin. Her's was a small silver harp shaped with small wings on each side. It looks like the one that a Cupid would usually hold in his hands.

"Wow. Such a lovely broach. I...I haven't got mine yet. I have to give Dad this note and have him sign it before I could get mine." I waved the note in my hands to her.

"Really? That's kind of odd." She thought.

"Alright, everyone. Listen up." Ms. Fauna said from behind the Teacher's desk. "I hope that you all will take good care of your new broaches, they are necessary as they will be of proof that you have graduated from your regular classes. For those of you who have the envelopes, please remember to have your parents sign them and returned by tomorrow. Class dismissed. See you all tomorrow." And she leaves the room like a ball of light, as in literally turned into a ball of light.

"I wonder why you weren't given one yet?" James said who was sitting behind me.

I looked at his broach which he had already pinned onto the collar of his waistcoat. It was a really golden crown, and a very detailed one at that, just like the one Dad wears on his head on very important days and occasions.

"I don't know. Nice broach by the way." I said as my eyes had drifted towards the window where the clock tower could be seen outside. "Oh. It's that time already? I have to go back and changed!"

"Oh yes! I also have to make more changes to my plans for the party!" Amber quickly packs her stuff.

"I have to check if the weapons have arrived undamaged." James puts on his backpack.

"Let's get going then. To the carriage!" I said as I point out the classroom door.

We quickly left the classroom and out the main gate when we saw Vivian and Desmond on the ground on the side of the lawn, on all fours with rose petals scattered all over the lawn. It didn't look like they were there on purpose.

"Vivian!" I quickly went over to her. "What happened here?" I asked while helping her up.

"This is an absolute mess!" Amber says looking all over the lawn.

"Did you guys had a fight or something?" James said while helping Desmond pat off the dried soil on his jacket.

"No. Why would I fight, especially with a girl?" Desmond raised a brow.

"It wasn't him. Something from the sky swooped down on us and tried to snatched the bouquet of roses right out of my hands." Vivian said while pointing up at the sky. "It flew by really quickly and strongly, that the roses had been scattered all over and we rolled over the ground. I wonder who would do such a thing?"

I attempted to try and pat her on the back and shoulders, but Amber swiftly took my hand from behind. I took a quick look at her and see her slightly shaking her hand.

"Look." She mouthed to me.

I looked back to see Desmond taking off his coat and putting her. Watching that gave me...a nice feeling. Not because I didn't get a chance to help, but the way Desmond shows his care is truly touching.

"I'll take you back home, just in case if anyone else will try to pull another stunt like that on you again." Desmond says reassuring her.

"Thanks." Vivian smiled. "Thank you again, Sofia. Amber."

"Thanks, James." Desmond says as he picks up both his and Vivian's bags.

"Take care!" I waved as we watched them leave.

James picked up one of the scattered petals on the ground.

"Who would want to fly down and attack them?" He says.

"Maybe someone who is jealous with their closeness?" Amber suggests. "I mean, they did try to sabotage the bouquet after all."

"Maybe...maybe it's got something to do with the recent strange rumors and activities." I said recalling the conversation that James and I had with Clio and Vivian.

"What rumors?" Amber raised a brow.

"I heard from among the castle staff a few days ago that there were rose petals raining. Vivian mentioned this morning that her mother had heard rumors about someone with wings is flying in the air, shooting out random lights into the air. It might behind the raining petals."

"Clio thought that you and Hildegard might've taken a detour somewhere there to see the petals earlier this morning since you weren't with us." James said.

"Well. As a matter of fact, we did pass there."

She takes her bag and takes some items out of her bag and holds them up. One was a medium sized jar with a cork, and the other was a medium sized bag.

"I got these, hoping that maybe Cedric could do a sample on them. Maybe he would know a thing or two about this weird abnormality. I heard that some of the other kingdoms' had tried to get their best Sorcerers and Alchemists to work it out, but none has solved it yet."

"So...why do you want Cedric to give it a try if the others had failed to find the solution?" James crossed his arms in front of him. "And since when did you started getting interested in this sort of thing?"

"Hildegard had caught word from some of her people in her kingdom that if any Sorcerer or Alchemist can solve this mystery, they shall be recognized as the 'Greatest' in the land, and the kingdom that they serve shall also be given another 'Brand New Castle'!" Amber squealed! "Imagine! A whole new castle! I could own it and fill it entirely with all the gowns and shoes in the world! Or I could make it a 'Party Castle', where I could host all of my parties in it, whether big or BIGGEST!"

"A knew there's a reason behind that smile." James says quietly to me while watching Amber talking to herself.

"Hehe. Oh James." I giggled. "So, Amber. What are in these?" I interrupted.

"Oh. Yes. Ahem." She quickly composed herself. "In this jar is filled with the cloud that rained the petals, and in this bag are the petals."

"Clouds? In a jar?" James tries to look into the jar. "There's absolutely nothing inside. Are you sure you didn't put your breath inside?"

"I really gather some clouds in there. It's made out of gases if you've learned your science lessons properly."

"It's possible, James. I tried once to collect 'Dragon's Breath' before, and it also looked like nothing." I said to James.

There were times when Mr. Cedric would ask me to be his temporary Apprentice, and on one occasion he was ordered by Dad to have a spell that could make Fireworks appear. Mr. Cedric asked me to help him gather some ingredients that he didn't have for the Fireworks potion, and they were: a jar of Dragon's Breath, three whole Golden Carrots, and six pieces of Cave Crystals. I got the Dragon's breath from Vivian's pet dragon named Crackle, who was Clover's friend. It was sort of amusing when I got Crackle's breath. You couldn't see the breath itself at first, but when you look carefully there were some forms of flames that appeared every other second when you looked into the jar.

"If you looked carefully at the jar, you could actually see some forms of fog floating inside." I took the jar from Amber and handed it to James to have a better look.

He takes a closer look at the jar. "You're right, Sofia! Hey!" He got cut off when Amber takes back the jar.

"Here." She hands them to me. "You give them to Cedric since you know him better. He seems to do things better when you are the one who asks him to do things."

"Well...okay." I said as I quickly summoned my box and put the two items inside.

"We'd better get going." Amber says as she starts walking. "It's like they say, 'Time is Gold'."

"Don't you mean 'Time is Money'?" James corrects her.

"They're just the same in meaning." I commented.

"Not they aren't!" They said in unison.

James got onto the carriage first, then helping Amber and I get on. Normally he should be helping us get on by standing outside the carriage, but he says it's easier this way. He could pull us up quicker and not having to step on our dresses by accident. It kinda happened before when we first started that practice, and I always end up tripping onto the carriage instead of stepping. James couldn't stop laughing for days, but I know he didn't mean any harm.

We took off as soon as I shut the door. Watching as the clouds comes nearer and nearer, until it dissolves into view.

"By the way, does anyone know if Dad's at the castle at this time?" I asked as I took out the envelope from my pocket.

"I heard this morning that he had a 'Tri-Kingdom Meeting' scheduled today." Amber says fanning herself.

"You should probably pass your envelope to Baileywick, since you're going to rush once we get back to the castle."

"You're right." I said and shove it back into my pocket.

"Could you please pick up the pace? We wouldn't want Sofia to miss her errands today." James commands our Coachman.

"Yes, Young Majesty." And we sped up like a gust of wind.

* * *

><p><em><span>Cedric's POV<span>_

"Let's turn the knob a little bit." I said while turning the knob of the burner with little force, trying not to over boil the contents in the beakers. "There."

I am in the middle of finishing a potion, one of Princess Sofia's requests that I had to obliged. She says she needed a potion that instantly speeds up the pace of a certain village's crops. Her other requests involves potions for Fireworks that will be needed in a few days time, and some potions that involves curing any kinds of sicknesses, just in case that some of the villages' temporary clinics, that Princess Sofia had set up, ran out of medicinal herbs or run into a case that they couldn't find a cure with herbs alone.

"I shouldn't be working on things like this. I am a Royal Sorcerer, not a Doctor!" I said to myself out loud.

"Ark! Ark!" Wormy cried out on his bird stand.

Wormwood is my pet Raven, but I call him Wormy, and I've had him for as long as I could remember. You could also say that is my only loyal friend and has been my family ever since I became Enchancia's Royal Sorcerer, only because I came from a long line of sorcerers in my family's background. I've actually wanted to be a knight if I weren't a sorcerer: slaying dragons, hunting down monsters, or to go on wild adventures. The only problem is, I haven't exactly got the body or stamina needed for those kinds of extreme activities. I wouldn't be able to move an inch in a heavy suit of armor. I've tried to wear one once, the one just outside my tower's door along the corridor, and it took me ages to even get my leg up after falling down to the floor with the armor. Baileywick found it amusing when he was looking for me when the King was requesting for my presence. How humiliating.

"Ark! Ark! Ark!" Wormy cried out, sitting on the table where I was boiling my potion near the window.

I had requested another table to be used in my workshop because the new Boiling Set, which Princess Sofia had given to me as a gift, was far too large for my main working table. I had the table placed near the window so if in case there was any accidental or mixed up explosions with the potion making, I could just easily open the window without having to walk around the room blinded by smoke.

"Oh. Thank you, Wormy. I better stop that daydreaming habit." I petted him on the head.

Wormy is a very bright bird. Most times he would help me in my experiments, like gather up materials, or getting jars and containers that were on shelves that I couldn't reach, and whenever we played checkers he would win, most of the time. Sometimes I think that he might be a better sorcerer than I am if we were under different circumstances, with him being a Human and I as a Raven.

I see that the liquid in the beaker at the end of the Boiling Set had finally turned from green to colorless, and turned off the fire from the burner. I grabbed an empty bottle on the other workbench and poured the finally product in the empty bottle, sealing it off with a cork.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that this is a better Crops Growth Elixir than the last one I made." I said and looked through the bottle and the window. "I guess making potions and casting spells are all that I'm ever good at, huh?"

"Ark! Ark!" Wormy replied. Maybe he was saying 'That's not true.'. I could only guess since I don't speak the language of a Raven.

TACK! TACK! TACK! TACK!

I could hear knocking noises, only they weren't coming from the door.

TACK! TACK! TACK! TACK!

I turned my head again and see something floating outside my window.

"Mr. Cedric!" It was Princess Sofia, who was shouting while riding on a flying horse just outside.

I opened the window with the feeling of annoyance.

"Hello, Mr. Cedric!" She said in her usual carefree tone.

She was sitting on one of the castle's flying horses. As a rider, she doesn't wear her usual dresses that you would see her wear inside the castle. Her current horse riding clothes have simply taken up to another level, for her at least. She was wearing a magenta cap with a brim and ear cover clothes tied together at the top, a 3/4 sleeve lilac shirt, a vest that covers the neck with 2 front zip pockets, a pair of wrist strapped fingered gloves, a 3/4 stretchy look leather lilac colored pants with belt loops on the sides, and a black pair of tall field riding boots with a classic European top line, side spur rests and a full length rear zip. The top line has side flaps on the outer side of the boots, it's designed to protect the side of the rider's knees while leaving the front part open for the knees to motion freely. I can't say that I envy her, but with the thought of her always having new clothes is something I could only ask if my robes were totally worn out. If my eyes aren't deceiving me, she is wearing a hair stick in her hair. Probably the young princess of Wei-Ling gave it to her.

"Why are you outside my window and not at the door?"

"I'm kind of in a hurry since I just came back from school. Is the potion for the crops ready?"

"Yes, yes. It's ready." I showed her the bottle that was in my hand. "I'd rather that you at least come inside to get it. I wouldn't want your Amulet- er, I mean, your, ah, leg to slip in and fall on the edge of my window while coming in from your horse, and be blamed for such things."

"Okay."

I stepped back a bit to the side of the window to make room for her to climb inside as I offered my hand to help her in. She gracefully took it and got inside safely.

"Thank you, Mr. Cedric." She said with a curtsy, while holding up her imaginary dress.

I handed her the bottle and I watch her put it into her backpack.

"Aren't you going to put that into your storage box, Princess Sofia? The one I taught you?" I asked.

"Oh. I only use that spell for carrying my school necessities. I'm afraid that the bottle might break inside while I move."

"The box doesn't move like your body does, Princess. It only levitates or...let's say 'suspends' in motion, meaning it floats and stays in one place, never moving an inch as if time has stopped inside and outside of the box. So even things that easily spoil, like food or milk, will still be as fresh as you first placed it in, and things that are really fragile, like glass menageries or crystals, won't break, even while you ride on that horse." I gestured at the flying horse waiting outside. "Or just like the Carpet-bag that Duchess Matilda carries with her. She could even pull out a ready-made tea set from it." and I still find that hard to believe.

"Ooh. I see. I'll put it inside the box right now then." She happily says as I watch her do her spells.

Normally I wouldn't even think of trying to associate with the likes of her, nor do any of her requests. As a Royal Sorcerer, my duty is to the King and only to the King I should be serving, but the circumstances changed ever since Princess Sofia had joined the Royal family. Not only did she and her mother, Queen Miranda appear, but the Amulet of Avalor, the sacred magical item that I've been looking for many years, had also appeared, right on Princess Sofia's neck. It was then that I've been trying over and over again, to find a way to snatch that amulet off of her. It has such strong magical powers, that if you could manage to learn how to control and make use of it, you could become the most powerful person in the world, and even take over the kingdom of Enchancia.

Most of the time I find the Princess a real nuisance, especially before when she could never get my name pronounced correctly. Unlike the rest of the Royal family, especially King Roland and the castle steward Baileywick, who always belittle me in everything I do, Princess Sofia has always come to me asking for help, mainly when it comes down to magic. She is actually a very good student and learns things very quickly, without complains and with determination. Even having at least one person who believes in you and your true talent, is enough to make a sad Sorcerer like me feel very proud inside, even have a purpose in the world.

"You remember how to use that potion, right?" I asked just to test her memory.

"Put one part of the potion with four equal parts of water into a watering can, then sprinkle all over the crops like how you would usually do when you sprinkle them with normal water. Right?"

"Excellent, my young apprentice." I said. Actually feeling proud of myself. "By the way, Princess Sofia. I haven't quite finished the Fireworks potion that you were asking for."

"Oh. Are you perhaps...in need of more Dragon's Breath?" She said.

"Exactly, my dear. It's as if you could read my mind." I said. If that were ever true that would be utterly absolutely frightening.

"Sure. How much do you want me to gather and fill up?"

"Just reuse that bottle I gave you. It would be enough."

"Alright. Oh, I almost forgot." She scrambles in her bag and took out some items. "Here. These are from Amber."

I took the two items, a jar and a bag. The jar looked empty, but some fogs tend appear every other second. The bag contained rose petals.

"Forgive me for asking, Princess. Exactly what does Princess Amber want me to do with these?"

"Well, have you heard the rumor of the raining rose petals that's been around lately?"

"Raining rose petals?...Yes, yes, yes. I've heard of it. The one that the maids were gossiping about."

"Well, Amber went to where that cloud was and gathered samples of the cloud and the rose petals on our way to school this morning. She wants you to experiment on them."

"So it's a cloud? Well that explains the little fogs inside." I said while looking through the jar again. "Still. What is this cloud got to do with her and me?"

"At the moment, no one, Sorcerer or Alchemist from the other kingdoms have yet solved or found out what or who is causing this strange phenomenon. The only ones that haven't yet tried it out are you and your father, Goodwyn the Great."

"If that's the case, then why not look for my father instead? He's the greatest in the land, remember?" I said as I held out the two items back to her.

My father, Goodwyn the Great, was Enchancia's former Royal Sorcerer. He not only served the former king, King Roland the First, but also saved the former king's life nine and a half times. If you ask me, that king's been into too much trouble to get his life saved that many times. I've never did anything that great for King Roland the Second, but I did save Princess Sofia's life, according to King Roland that is. It was that one time when King Magnus had come to Enchancia to visit, and I was requested by the King, sort of, to perform a Magic Show for everyone.

Every time I get around King Roland I become so nervous, so the thought of having two kings watching was pure pressure. Princess Sofia had helped me prepare the night before the show, thus I was well prepared, or so I thought until I had come face to face with the two kings. I became so nervous that when I started my show and did my first trick, a magic spell that was meant to make Sofia's pet rabbit fly called _Flotilla Rabbitsa_, ended up making the rabbit bounce all around. The next thing I knew was that Princess Sofia had been turned into a lizard, and I calmly and successfully transformed her back to her real self casting the counter-spell _Lizardo Changio_. King Roland was relieved that his step-daughter had been saved and had finally acknowledged me as a great sorcerer who saved Princess Sofia's life in front of everyone. Later I learned that the Princess had purposely spilled the Lizard Potion on herself because she knew that I was too nervous, so by being a lizard herself I could cast a trick that I could really do well at, which was turning her back to normal. So basically, I saved her life twice!

Princess Sofia gently pushed the two items back to my chest, with a smile so confident that I thought my hands would drop if I stared at her smile long enough.

"Well, get this. According to our friend, Princess Hildegard, she heard from her people that if any of the kingdoms' Sorcerers or Alchemists can solve this mystery, they shall be known as the 'Greatest Sorcerer' in the land! Maybe in the whole WORLD! Perhaps this way you could finally be recognized by everyone. Isn't that great?" She puts her hands together. "So, will you do it?"

Princess Sofia could be on to something. Being the 'Greatest' was once a dream I thought I would never achieve, only once has King Roland ever said that I was the greatest in the land, but no more after that Magic Show. Normally you'd be called the greatest when you've done many great things in the many years of services for your King and his kingdom, without messing up that is. If, however, I should be able to solve this mystery, I would become the 'Greatest Sorcerer' in an instant, faster and more famous than my father.

"Alright. I'll do it. You've convinced me." I said as I placed the two items down on my main working table just at the other end of the room.

"Hehe. Great!" She said. "Oh. Almost forgot again. These are for you, Wormwood."

She takes out a small white pouch from her pocket and walks over to my side to put it down in the working table. She probably used a white napkin or handkerchief to wrap it up into a pouch.

"I'd better get going then. Is there anything else you want me to get for you?" She says while walking towards the window.

"Nope. Nothing at all." I said as I followed her to help escort her out of the window.

The sooner she leaves the better for me to get started on the experiments. Even though I do not like helping her, but I do have my 'Gentleman Manners' instinct intact. Even if I had a choice, it wouldn't be possible to ignore since she is a Princess, even if she is adopted.

I stood by the side of the window, with my left side facing the window and my right facing toward the inside of my workshop, and voluntary held up my left hand. She takes hold of it and steps onto the edge of the window, ready to get onto her horse just outside.

"See ya later, Mr. Ce-AH!"

She suddenly loses her balance, began falling backwards towards the floor of my workshop, and loses her grip on my hand. If she were to get injured here in my workshop, I'll be blamed and punished, or even get...I can't! It's much too horrible to imagine it!

I held onto the edge of the window with my left hand and immediately grabbed her left hand with my right hand, and tried to pull her up from with a little tug, just like a yo-yo. But the tension on my tug was a little too much her that her body had recoiled going inward counter clockwise, and it was also too much for me that my feet couldn't stand on its own, causing me to also start moving along, or in this case twirling. A switch inside of me must've been flipped on because my body's dancing instincts had begun taking over, as if it had found a sense of rhythm or pace in the spin. My right hand had moved hold the Princess around her waist from the back, my left hand swaying in motion to hold the Princess's right hand, my feet slowing down the twirl to a slower pace as we move towards the center of the room, 'causing us both to do a Counter Clockwise Turn three times, a Waltz dance step, and ending with both of us standing to a halt.

"Princess Sofia! Why can't you watch where you're...ah...um...oh dear..."

We were in each others' arms still in Hand Hold position, our clothes were touching each other, and our faces just barely inches apart, except for my long nose that had landed squarely on her forehead, and even worse, we were standing in the middle of the room where we could be visibly seen by anyone if they happen to look into my Workshop's window.

In my whole life, I've never been so close to any woman, apart from my own mother, not as much as to even hold one this close, not even in a dance, especially if that someone is a member of a Royal family. It was alright for the Princess to touch anyone when she was younger as she was still a child, but she is literally a young woman now. Getting caught holding her now, would result to a lot of trouble, I would be seized, or worse, have my head off. I am a grown man, but to think that I'm actually holding her this _Close_, is extremely...nerve wracking. The silence in the atmosphere in this room is killing me, as if time had stopped as well. My hands and legs had gone rock stiff and my eyes wouldn't stop staring.

Princess Sofia had slowly freed herself from me and took a step back.

"I-I-I-I-I-I ap-p-p-p-pologize, P-P-Princess Sofia! I-I-I didn't mean to-to-to-" My teeth were tittering so nervously that I could feel my whole head vibrating.

"Mr. Cedric! You..."

At that moment, all tension had relieved from my body and my knees immediately slammed to the ground and my upper body had fallen flat with my arms spread above my head on the floor. I also crushed my nose during the impact, but didn't have time to feel the pain.

"You can dance?"

"Y-Yes, I can, Princess Sofia. I...Huh?!" I looked up at her, my eyelids had shot up wide open.

"It's just...that was a Counter Clockwise Turn, wasn't it? Even the way your feet moved, they moved as if they were finding a balance to stop us from falling!" She said in amazement. She was already crouching down in front of me.

"P-Princess?" I looked at her with dumbfounded eyes.

"Here, let me help you."

I let her help me up with my arm around her shoulders, because my legs are a little bit wobbly and numb to stand on their own. She walked me over to my bench and I slowly sat down. I wanted to reach for my wand, but forgot it by the Boiling set. The Princess must've seen where my line of sight was and went to get me my wand. I nervously took it and magically poured myself a cup of water and gulped it down in one go.

"Ah!" I let out a breath of relief. "That's better."

"Good." She says. "So...where did you learn to Waltz?"

I had forgotten for a moment that she was still in the room, standing beside me, but I restrained myself from panicking.

"I...I learned it from my mother, naturally. At a young age of course." I could feel a sweat running along my temple.

"Oh. So...how good of a dancer are you then, ranging from 1 to 10?" She held up her hands wide open.

"I...wouldn't judge it on numbers, Princess. Let's just say that those who has had a chance to dance with me hasn't yet been disappointed." I raised a brow. Which was practically none, apart from my mother.

"You must be a really great dancer then-"

"Shouldn't you moving along? You're going to be late for your duties, you know." I tried to change the topic. I was starting to feel awkward.

"Oh. Oh! You're right!" She said as she jogs over to the window's edge, then stops to look over her shoulder. "By the way, thanks again for saving my life, Mr. Cedric."

If her words didn't pierce my heart, it was her smile on her face. I always see that innocent smile of hers everyday, and it has always annoyed me to the ends of my evilest nerves and veins in my body. But to hear her say those words with that smile, it's just...not fair, not fair at all.

"Just take a good rest.." She settles onto her horse. "I'll be back with the Dragon's Breath!" She waves goodbye and took off at the speed of light

I drank three more cups of water before I can manage to stand up on my own and walk to close my window, then leaned against the wall and let out a sigh. That was one tiring event that I wouldn't ever want to experience again. I mean, really, she was more amazed with my dancing skills, than how close we were in physical contact, being accidentally held at by the hands of a grown man in his mid 30s. Is she serious? No screaming? Not panicking? Not even startled? Really?

"Ark! Ark!" Wormy had landed on my left shoulder.

"Oh, Wormy." I gave him a light pet on the head. "That Princess will never changed, will she?"

"Ark! Ark!"

"But I didn't lie when I said I that could dance. Mother had always loved dancing, and even when I was a young lad she would always teach me how to Waltz around the house, every kind and type and genre that she could think of, at least two times in a day. She always said that 'Every man should at least know how to dance, even if he would only dance with someone only once in his lifetime'. I would always complain that I was not only dancing once, but everyday, with her, and that I wasn't having any fun at all. She would then follow that Father had never danced in his life, and when they both had their first dance together, it was one that she would never want to remember herself or by anyone else, or they'll get a smack on the face if ever mentioned.

"Ever since I went to Sorcery school and moved into the castle, I've never had a chance to Waltz with anyone, nor with Mother. I have to admit now that I do kind of miss having to dance, even just once in a while. I've attended every Ball and events that this castle has ever held since my being in here, but no one wants to dance with me, not even doing anything with me, probably due to my facial features. Still, who ever said that you have to dance with someone with good looks? As long as you've got skills and the know-how, dancing with someone like me would still be fun, right?"

"Ark!"

I gazed out through the window, looking at the sky as I imagined the Princess's face afloat amongst the clouds.

"I wonder...if the Princess also detested with having danced with me, even if it was just a few steps?"

The Amulet of Avalor then replaced her image, and all sorts of imaginations started spinning within the chains of the amulet, as if reminding me of what my main goal was.

"That's...right...That's Right! They can tell me that I'm 'No Good'! And call me 'Second Rate'! But soon they'll see, when I finally steal that amulet from the Princess, that I'm meant to be, King Cedric the GREAT!" I yelled out loud and throughout the entire Workshop was filled with my echos, hearing 'Great' a good number of times.

I stepped away from the wall and went over to my workbench. I decided to start working on the samples that Princess Amber wanted me to work on. I carefully extracted a tiny amount of the cloud sample and put it into a special boiling flask, one that won't let any of its contents spill or escape, also unbreakable. I leave the petal samples on the table for later and took the cloud sample over to the Boiling Set. I decided to boil the cloud sample so that it will evaporate into small droplets, even a single drop is vital as it will show what kinds of particles it consists of.

"I put the flask here on the tripod over the burner. Then I just turn the knob and just...There!" I said as I gently adjusted the fire with the small knob. The new burner is really good, just within three seconds the flame would heat up to as hot as a newly boiled pot of tea. Of course I would have to be very careful, even my own gloves wouldn't protect my skin from getting burned if ever I accidentally placed my hand on it. If I, ever, get burned, it would take at least half a year for it to completely heat itself, even with one of my medicinal potions it would take at least three months.

I watched and waited until the cloud had finished vaporizing and turned into, what seemed like, a few droplets of murky water. I quickly, but carefully, turned off the burner. I went over to my workbench and tried to find any cloth or rag, then I saw a small pouch on the table. It was from the Princess. I had forgotten all about it. I untied the knot of the pouch and saw Wormy's favorite snack: Cranberries. You could tell that they were just newly hand picked. Who would think that she'd have time to spare just to pick some berries for an old sorcerer's pet?

"Wormy! Get your snack. The Princess hand picked these for you."

I took a small clean bowl that was just sitting on the corner of the table and poured the berries into it. I then got the white cloth and went to wrap the special flask. I looked over my shoulder and see Wormy eating happily. At least he's happy.

"CEDRIC!"

The door instantly slammed opened, and the vibrated impact sends my whole body off balance as I tried to avoid crashing into my Boiling Set. But fate has decided to strike me, as my right hand tried to grab onto something, I could feel a burning sensation on the back of my hand. I tried to bare it so that I wouldn't fall, but it was too much to handle that I just let myself fall, with the special beaker in my other hand. My whole head rung as if I was a church bell tower, and I could feel my head heavily aching, but it was quickly overpowered by a overpowering pain from my right hand. The back part of my glove on my hand had been burned, as if something chewed a bit off of it. What was even more horrifying was the skin were the missing material was burned. It was as red as an opened wound, in fact, it was a huge burn that was covered in moist.

"Cedric! Help!"

I sat up and see that it was none other than the trouble maker Prince James. I tried to hold my anger as I looked at him with mixed feelings.

"Poseidon's Pumpkins!What do you want?! And don't they teach in that school of yours how to knock?" I said, feeling my face twitching.

"S-sorry. It's just that it's really an emergency." He said with a worried expression. "Here."

He held out his hand to offer his assistance to help me up, but I learned my lesson from my last encounter with Princess Sofia, so I just slowly got up by myself, ignoring the stinging pain in my hand.

"So, what's the problem?"

"I need to know if you have a spell that can make the ground turn into trenches in an instant? I need them for my soldiers who are training today."

I could feel my anger boiling up inside of me, but continued to control myself.

"Prince James. May I remind you that I can only make spells that are for people who actually works hard, not for those who do not wish to do the task themselves. Your father has told you that I can only help you and your sisters if it involves something that requires dangerous procedures, such as handling fires and chemical substances. Making _Trenches_ in the ground requires a shovel and some man power, not fire or chemical substances. Or have you forgotten the incident with your father's window?" I said to him with stern words.

It was during those rare days when the Goldenwing Circus was in the kingdom. It only comes once a year and the children were really excited to go watch, especially Prince James who loved watching the Jugglers. It was also that time when the King had just gotten his new stained glass window, which is a portrait of the whole family in it, in the entertainment room, and it was supposed to be a surprise for Queen Miranda. I never did like the way the window was drawn anyway, their faces looked lifeless to me. The artist was probably spending sleepless nights working on the window to get it done in time.

One of the castle rules told to the children was that they weren't allowed to play any ball games inside the castle, and the Prince accidentally threw one of his juggling balls and broke Princess Amber's face on the glass window. If you ask me, I thought that was a better picture to have. Princess Sofia and Prince James asked for my assistance to fix the window, so that their father wouldn't get upset and avoid getting into trouble.

But I had a different goal. I schemed to try and steal the amulet at that time, using the spell _Patuzzi_, which only works on magnetizing on small objects. But when I tried to used the spell, I ended up being a part of the window. Prince James found the spell_ Za Prasen Za Prasu _in the Counter-spell book that I had brought, meaning 'To Empty' in Slovenian and 'Please' in Lithuanian, which is exactly the correct spell to fix anything that helps empties the extra substances or object that's not supposed to be in it. But because the Prince was still learning sorcery and doesn't have the secret that only graduated Sorcerers know, the entire window went and shattered into pieces.

"If I remembered correctly, Cedric. You were the one who messed up the spell in the first place." He said looking at me with his arms crossed.

"But with Your lack of experience in Sorcery, you couldn't even fix the window yourself." I told him. "Besides, I read in your list of duties that You and your soldiers were supposed to dig the trenches yourselves. I still have copies of the duties of the three of you, if you'd like I could offer you a copy if you had lost your own copy, unless you'd like me to read it out loud to you. OUCH!" I felt the sting on my hand. "Poseidon's Pumpkins!"

"Hmph! Whatever." I puffed out with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"If that's All you wanted, it would be a pleasure if you could leave and cause no more accidents, like this huge burned wound that you gave me on my hand when you rudely charged into My Workshop." I was starting to lose it.

"Fine." He said as he turned towards the door.

"Goodbye!" I tried to sound enthusiastic.

Then he stopped to stare at me. "Some helpful Sorcerer you are." and slammed my door shut with a bang.

I stuck out my tongue.

"Ark!"

Wormy lands on the Boiling Set table, holding a spare glove in his claws. I pet him on the head.

"Oh, Wormy. You're the only one who knows me. Argh!" I could feel my hand burning and aching. "If ever I get a hold of that Prince in my hands, I would- ARGH!"

A strong pain reverberated along the back of my spine. I must've hurt it when I fell backwards during the strong impact. I got the spare glove and went to my workbench. I placed the special beaker down on the table and took off the cloth, then cast a spell to create ice since I do not have access to the castle's kitchen. I put the ice in the cloth and tied it together. I carefully placed it onto my burned wound, and a sizzling sound was heard.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHH! MMMMEEEERRRLLLLIIIIII-IIIINNNSSSSSSSSS MMMMUUUUSSSSSSHHHHRRRROOOOOOOMMMSSSSSS!" I couldn't bare the pain anymore. I swear my screaming is more horrifying than Princess Amber's.

* * *

><p><em><span>Lucinda's POV<span>_

I am currently standing in front of my very own cauldron, which was the size of a small standard fish bowl, practicing how to make a proper Hexing potion. Unlike other Witches, I don't go to school since we live far from the Witchery Kingdom. Both my parents were once teachers at a witch school there, so they've been home schooling me instead, which saves money and time. I'm really good at casting Hexing spells, which is a strong talent that runs in my family, only Potion making isn't my best skill.

The reason I am practicing this, is because my parents got a message scroll from the Witchery Kingdom, ordering all Witching families to have their eldest child to try to create a potion that can solve the bad disease that has been spreading around and making some of the people sick. Some of the people in the other kingdoms thinks it's a common flu, or some sort of magically sprite has been making mischief, or that one of the kingdom's Sorcerer's been sent to spy on the villages to cause another kingdom to go off balance and take over.

I know I should've mastered Potion Making years ago, but I never planned on aiming to be the greatest witch in the world, just wanted to grow up like any normal kid with the exception of a special talent. I'm not saying that I don't like being a Witch, I just don't like having so much expectations being pressured onto me just because I'm a Witch and come from a long line of family of great Witches. Still, no one said that I'll get punished for trying to live differently, or that my powers will be taken away because I don't study as hard as I should be.

"Hm...I should add a few drops of Joyful Tears...and...a pinch...of Wishful Thinking." I read the following ingredients for a Skin Beautify Potion from one of my mother's textbooks.

I got a blue glass bottle of Joyful Tears and a small brown clay pot decorated with sea glass pieces full of Wishful Thinking chalk powder from the shelves behind me. Then I got the amount prescribed and mixed everything together, stirring everything together with my wand. I know that the potion isn't going to help anyone with the situation, but it is a potion similar to the one I'm hoping to perfect on: the Invisible Barrier Potion. The Invisible Barrier Potion helps protect people from things that attack from the air we breathe in, like poisonous gases, contaminated dusts, etc. Basically, it protects you from things that can't be seen with the naked eye. The Invisible Barrier Potion is way too hard for my level, so I'm practicing with potions related to the skin first. It might actually help in some ways, in case someone in the village suddenly get irritated skin amongst the chaos.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

I could hear knocking on my front door from where I am in the basement. I hear footsteps upstairs going from the living room to the front door. The sounds of the door opening.

"Good afternoon. Is Lucinda home?" It was Jade's voice.

"Oh. Yes, she's downstairs at the moment." It was Mother's voice. "Come on in, you two."

"Thank you." It was Ruby's voice.

My hearing is incredibly sharp nowadays. As a Witch, when we reach the stage of puberty, our senses will also grow in a unique way, but it varies with different Witches. Mother has incredible eyesight, she can even see the tiniest of dust in the air. Like one time how I was practicing Potion Making and out of the Crying Powder dusts started flying in the air, almost landing in the Wishful Thinking Chalk Powder. She had a pair of tweezers in her hand and caught it like she was doing Martial Arts. It was crazy. My father has an outrageous sense of taste. Instead of being good in tasting things, his taste buds were all messed up. Like freshly squeezed lemon juices would be spicy, and grapes would be salty. How fortunate for me not to experience that. Still, having very sharp hearing isn't any good either, especially when sleeping. I could hear water dripping from the faucets, small insects munching on leaves, I could even hear snoring from people who are five houses away. I think it's a curse to have this kind of sense, but at least I haven't gone deaf.

"Lucinda dear, your friends are here." Mother said on the other side of the door without knocking. She is aware of my hearing.

"I know. Come on in." I said as I put on my ear muffs that was hanging around my neck and pressed the muffs against my ears tightly.

I could hear the door knob turning, like swords hitting against each other. Even with the ear muffs on my ears are still ringing, but the slashing is less echoing at least.

"Hey, Lucinda!" Jade was the first one to walk through the door. "Oh. Still trying hard?"

"Yeah." I said letting my hands down. "Have a seat. I'll be done in just a few moment."

I pointed at the couch just beside the door. There is a tea table with a plate of cookies and a tea set, which I had baked and prepared earlier.

"Wow. Did you bake these, Lucinda?" Ruby took a bite and looking all happy. "Mmm! It's making me feel all fuzzy and warm inside."

"Yup. I planned on practicing Potion Making today, so I baked some cookies in advance so I wouldn't have to leave the room in case I get hungry. You girls can have some ." I said while I continued to stir in the cauldron.

"Okay." Jade said as she sat down. She takes a cookie from the plate and puts it all into her mouth. I could hear her chewing, the way her teeth are crunching the cookie into pieces. "Mmm! This is really good!"

"Glad you liked them." I said.

My eyes quickly scrolled over the page of the book, checking to make sure if I had missed any other instructions or ingredients.

"Continue stirring...until...the mixture becomes light blue in color. Okay." I read out the last part of the instructions and grabbed the table cleaning cloth just near the end of the table, using it to hold one of the cauldron's handle.

"What cha' mixing this time?" Ruby asks me from the couch.

"Ha. Don't you mean 'Brewing'?" Jade says with a laugh.

"Well, I'm trying to 'Brew' up a Skin Beautify Potion. It has the same basic pattern as the Invisible Barrier Potion, so hopefully...it won't end up like the last time." I sound grim.

"You got that right." Ruby answered quick. "That last time you did, with the Spiky Barricade Potion, ended up turning Jade into a '_Spiky Barracuda_' instead!"

"Uhg! I never wanted to see another fish again after that." Jade said. "But I still ended up looking for fish because I had to make fish stew for our family dinner."

"Aw well. I'll try it on a frog this time so that nobody would get affected in any way." I concluded.

My potion was almost ready, and with a wave of my wand, I made a frog inside a small cage appear on the table. Well, it looked more of a toad really, with lots and lots or boils like marks all over its body.

"Woah! It's a cute frog!" Jade ran over to get a closer look at it. "...or is it a toad?...still cute!"

I gestured her to move back as I use my wand to magically carry a small amount of the potion and rain onto the toad's skin. We watched as the boils on the skin slowly subsided, until the skin was so shiny.

"Maybe it worked?" Ruby concluded

She attempted to touch the toad, but the moment she touched its skin her facial expression tells me something else. She lifted it by its leg, the only difference here is that it was still in its squatting position.

"You made it shiny and hard. I think it became a statue." Ruby feared.

"Glad I wasn't a test subject." Jade swallowed hard.

"Oops." I said as I revert the toad back to its normal self, with its boils, and it quickly hopped away from us.

"Sigh." I never felt such depression in my life.

"Don't worry. You'll get there." Ruby tried to comfort me.

"Just keep it up...without hurting anybody- Ouch!" Jade got elbowed by Ruby just around her waist.

"It's alright. I know I'm still a little rough, but I'll keep practicing everyday." Then I looked around. "I'd better tidy up the stuff though, and store some of this potion in a jar."

"We'll help." Jade said.

Every time I make a potion, whether it's a failed or successful experiment, I had to keep them. My mother says its a good way to keep track of what I've done in each experiment so that I could compare to the ones that are almost close to the one I want to make. It's also a good way to have one of them already done and be ready to use as a weapon, a practice usually done by Witchery Soldiers.

"You know, Lucinda. I love the way all of the ingredients are sorted and organized around the room. It makes the room look so pretty." Ruby took a moment to admire the sparkly room.

My mother always puts the magic ingredients in glass decorated pots, glasses and bottles, so when you look around, it would seem that the room is a crystal cave.

I didn't do many experiments today, so we finished tidying up the room much quicker than most of the other days. At the same time my ears were hearing some noises other than the clinking of glasses and bottles. It was more of wind or flapping sounds. Following that were the noises and vibrations of stomping, probably people running or something.

"Something wrong?" Jade patted me lightly.

"I could hear something coming, and the stomping of people running all over the place. Are we holding some sort of celebration or festival that I missed on my calendar?"

"I don't think so. The next festival doesn't come up until next month." Jade was scratching her head.

"Should we all go check it out" Ruby goes over to the door, without touching the knob.

I nodded and put on my ear muffs, and ruby quickly turns the knob. It's better that way than turning it slowly, less noises less endurance.

I asked permission from my mother to take a break from my potions and we all left my house, bringing along my broom and wand. As soon as we stepped onto the sidewalk, we saw many villagers running towards the direction where the heart of the village is. Ruby stopped one of the villagers, one of our childhood friends.

"Where are you all going to?"

"I heard Sofia's-...I mean Princess Sofia's here, to help the village's problems again. C'mon, or you'll miss her." He says as he jogs off.

"Sofia's back already?" Ruby's eyes were visibly sparkling in the sunlight.

"Let's go and see if she needs out help again." Jade clasps her hands together in front of her chest. "You too, Lucinda."

"Okay." I said, still pressing my ear muffs against my ears.

The noises of the outside also make my eardrums ring, but it's more of an itchy feeling. As long I've got my ear muffs, then I'd be alright. I could always add my emergency soft earplugs if in case there's a noise that's really gonna sting me badly.

We shortly arrived at the heart of the village, a small park and a small fish pond located. There were so many people that gathered here that you couldn't see what was happening in the middle of it all. I positioned myself on my broom to prepare for take off.

My broom, the one that I had with me since I was still a young Witch, should only be able to carry myself and one extra passenger. As a growing kid I was gaining weight, which is not a bad thing for me and my health of course, but it was for my broom. My broom was only meant for smaller and younger Witches, and I was supposed to get a new one eventually. I didn't want to go through all of the hassle again just to get a new one, and I've grown attached to it too. The process of getting a broom takes at least a few weeks: finding the right type of tree, befriending the tree's Spirit to be my broom partner, and the waiting for the tree to be dug out to get made. When I mean by befriending the Spirit, I mean the Spirit that lives in the tree itself. You can't just chop off a branch or chop it at its trunk, it has to be dug out with its roots and leaves or the Spirit will escape. A few broken twigs is fine, but chopping off parts as big as your own arm and you'll lose the Spirit. Only the special Broom Specialists know how to make these trees into brooms without making mistakes or 2nd tries, and without losing the Spirit. If all of the Witches knew how to make it or tried to make it themselves with mistakes included, then there'd be no forests left in the world.

The knowledge of the Broom Specialists are only passed down within the family, and there were originally a hundred families in the world that had the knowledge. Now we officially have seventy-five families since the others had no offspring to pass the knowledge to. Why do we know it was originally a hundred? Because they were all the children of original broom specialist that started it all; One father, and a hundred children that inherited the mastery, and they were all male. Can you imagine that? Never mind. It's best not to know.

Anyway, back to my broom's story. I insisted that I wanted to keep my broom. My parents gave in and said that we would try to find a Broom Specialist and ask if there was anyway to keep my broom and just make it stronger or better for me to ride it without breaking it. We were preparing for our trip to the Witchery Kingdom to find one of the specialists who was residing there, since it takes a couple of days to get there from the village. One night we all heard a loud sound just outside our house. We went to check what it was and found a person collapsed on our front staircase. My parents carried the person inside since he was a huge person, too big for my father to carry alone, while I carried his 2 big leather bags that were at least 5 kilos each. We didn't have a spare bedroom at that time so we laid him in my bedroom since my bed was really big. From the way his clothes were full of dirt and dried mud, and his bags were really tattered, it was safe to say that he was a Traveler. He probably fainted from thirst and lack of sleep judging by the paleness of his skin and how dry his lips were.

We took turns taking care of him for the whole night, and by morning he had enough enough strength to sit up on his own. When he was able to talk later on during the day, he told us that he saw the broom in my room that looked different and special, and was hoping that I could give it to him. I told him that I would never part with it no matter how much someone pays me, whether it's money or fame, I'd never part with my trusted partner, even it's too small for me to ride on as a Witch. Yes, I told him I was a Witch.

He then let out a laugh, a laugh so different that it was only recognizable by Witches. He told us that he was a Broom Specialist from the Witchery Kingdom, and he had been traveling from place to place in search for forests that had Spiritual trees untouched by other Witches. Among the 100 Specialists, he was the only one that had a different knowledge that was passed down in his family, because he only specializes in enhancing brooms that Witches would never want to give up on, like the one I had. And because I really treasure my broom he would agree to help me make it stronger and better that it would last until it could be passed onto the next Witch when I become too old to fly around with it. On the condition that we give free food and shelter for the time periods that he would enhance my broom.

It only took 3 days for him to do it. When I got to see its finished form, I was astonished. Blown. Normal brooms would be just one long stick with straw like brushes at one end. He gave my broom an entirely different look; it still had the one stick with straw look, with the front part was wood, and the back was made of metal-alloy that looked like folded extensions, including the make-shift straw. He demonstrated how to open the back part of the broom; he opened it in half, making the broom look like the letter 'Y'; then he flip opened an inner part of each half, making the broom look like a giant tuning fork. He made it so that it could hold not only one person, but three at the same time, one in the front, and one on each of the extended end, and it was the only one of its kind in the whole world. I asked how he managed to cut off some of the wood without letting my Spirit partner out, but he told me that it was a family secret that should only be passed down the traditional way, and it shall always stay that way.

"C'mon aboard, you two." I was trying to impersonating a certain voice. "Let's ride the Express to the center of the crowd." while I top off my pointy hat.

* * *

><p><em><span>Sofia's POV<span>_

I am currently in the Village of Dunwiddy, my former home.

"All you have to do is to pour a part of this with four equal parts of water into a watering can, then you could all just water your crops just as always." I said to all of the village farmers while I hold the potion that Mr. Cedric had made in one hand and a watering can on the other. "And you should consume the already mixed water right away, or it'll deteriorate anything that you'll water it with if not finished within four hours. Understand everyone?"

"Yes, Princess Sofia." everyone said in unison as they discuss amongst themselves.

"You're really our hero, Princess." One of the older farmers approached me and shakes my hands in his.

"Yeah. Who knows what would've happen to us villagers if you and your family weren't around to help us unfortunate folks." Another farmer in his mid-twenties also came out of the crowd and gave a small bow with his hat off.

"It's no trouble at all. I-"

"IN COMING!"

I looked up to see whose were those voices that interrupted me. Sure enough, it's the girls I know best: Ruby and Jade who are two of my very best friends, and Lucinda the Goof Witch, all riding together on Lucinda's magical and improved broom. She had it enhanced some few years ago, better than before when it was still just a wooden broom. I almost had an accident with her broom when her apology got rejected by Jade the first time, and I tried to stop her from flying away but I ended up dangling on her broom's hair. I was almost too afraid to go on it again, but I managed to overcome my fear the second time I got to fly on it. I learned to trust it the more I visited Lucinda, and got to ride on it more often.

Everyone started backing up to make room for Lucinda to land the broom safely, but before her feet could touch the ground Ruby and Jade jumped off and landed on the ground, ran towards me and both of them lunged at me with high and tight hugs.

"Oh Sofia! You're back!" Ruby said.

"I can't believe you're back already! You should've told us that you were coming today." then Jade.

"Oh Jade. Ruby. It was just unexpected. I only knew that the potion for the crops would be ready by the time I finished school last night. I also have to get some other ingredients on the way back, too." I could feel my waist getting tighter, almost out of air when they finally let go of me.

"You girl just couldn't be any more patient, huh?" Lucinda was behind them, with a straight line instead of a smile.

"I'll apologize for their behavior, Lucinda." I said as I was about to curtsy.

"No need to. I already know how they are whenever it comes to you." Then she curtsied. "Welcome back, Princess Sofia of Enchancia."

"Sigh. I already...never mind."

I was about to tell Lucinda off about calling me 'Princess Sofia' when I realized that the crowd was still waiting for my further instructions. I stepped up a bit to get the crowd's full attention once more.

"I suggest that everyone starts helping out with crops and harvesting while I'm still around, then I'll be going around to see if everything's alright. I'll also be checking on the temporary clinic to see what's the current progresses on the sickness. That's it for today. You may all be dismissed."

Slowly, everyone starts to walk away from the circle, until only the five of us was left: Ruby, Jade, Lucinda, our castle horse Jamie, and myself.

"We're finally alone." I said. "You three really startled me when you appeared hovering over on the broom."

"Well, we couldn't help it." Jade shrugs.

"You know how it is whenever you don't show up, or when we get too bored to even know when you're free." Ruby just smiles innocently.

"I just tagged along since we were just together practicing on my potions again. It's still nice to see you, though. Sorry if I didn't get to see you yesterday."

"It's fine. I know that you're working just as hard to make a potion to help the village." I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Ooh! I almost forgot! Amber asked me to invite you guys to a Party she'll be holding this weekend. You all free?"

"What is it about?" Jade asked.

"Is it a Ball?" Ruby followed.

"Nope. It's a Tea Party, and all of the Princes and Princesses that attends Royal Prep will go to it, like a Get-Together party, before we all graduate into different classes. Interested?"

Amber calls it a Get-Together, but to me...it's more of a Farewell party. It's kind of depressing when you think about it, but it'll be the only time where you'll get to meet everyone in one place for one last time with the same familiar views of each other. Ironically, it'll still be held at the school's dance hall. So in reality, I'm not sure what to really call it at all.

"Uhg! Sorry, Sofia. We're both pretty busy this weekend. We're taking out the Buttercups on a hike to the Pepper Tree Forest." Jade apologizes.

"And the girls are really looking forward to it, too. They keep coming to my house every few hours asking me what should or shouldn't they bring to the hike. It's really important that we've prepared enough supplies on the trip just in case anything happens." Ruby scratches the back of her head.

The Buttercups, is a Scout troop for young girls. I was also a Buttercup before I became a Princess, and I graduated from it a few years later after becoming a Princess. Our Buttercup troops at the time consisted of only five of us: Ruby, Jade, Myself, and a pair of twins called Meg and Peg, and Ruby's mother, Mrs. Helen Hanshaw, Baileywick, were our Troop Leaders.

Ever since we graduated from our troop, everyone become Troop Leaders and formed their own little troops; Ruby and Jade made one team, and Meg and Peg made another. They are now in charge of 12 little Buttercups in each troop, and hopefully more will join and become excellent Buttercups. I was also offered to be a Leader at first, but I declined the offer as I know that I won't always have the time to arrange activities for the Buttercups along with my duties as a Princess. I've already got enough things to keep me busy, the only schedule missing for me...is to make free time for myself.

"Oh. Alright. Just make sure you both are safe during the hike. I'll just tell Amber that you'll both make it up on the next one. How about you, Lucinda? You available?"

"Mm...I'm not sure, actually. My parents were saying something about going somewhere this weekend, and that maybe I might need to tag along, too. Sorry, Sofia."

"It's alright. Don't worry about it. But I do hope that you'll come to at least one of our Parties sometime soon, Lucinda. You never seem to want to attend to them."

"I really do want to, but it's always coincidentally colliding with other unexpected things. And besides, I don't have a dress to wear."

"You don't have to worry about that. I could ask our Royal Dressmaker to make one for you. Amber always asks dresses to be done for Ruby and Jade, so it'll be no problem for you to get one, too. Just tell me in advance and we'll get your measurements."

"Oh, Okay. Thanks, Sofia. That's save me a lot of stress."

"Anytime." I said with a smile.

I turned to Jamie and got onto him.

"I'm going to go check on everyone. Wanna join me? No dress required." I grinned.

The girls giggled and joined me going around the village. Jade was with me on Jamie because Lucinda wanted to make sure that her broom didn't get another 'Jump' attack if ever Jade were and Ruby were to jump of from her broom again. We went around from farm to farm, and finally about to leave the last one to go to the temporary clinic.

"This is correctly done. Just wait for 2 or 3 days until the soil looks good." I said to the son of the farmer.

"Where next, Sofia?" Jade asked.

"This is the last farm in the village." Ruby said.

"The last place is the temporary clinic and the construction site. Hopefully things are going well over there." I said. "C'mon-"

"Hold on." Lucinda stood in her place holding up her hand indicating us to stop, while looking in a direction

Ruby and Jade looked at where she was looking, but didn't see anything different.

I was about to speak up when I noticed Lucinda's ears twitching a bit.

"...Lucinda..." I whispered.

"Something's coming...something big..." She said while holding her broom tightly in her other hand. "We've got to run...NOW!"

She quickly grabbed Ruby and they took off in the air with her broom. I got Jade and made her sit in the riders seat.

"What's going on? Shouldn't I be at the back?" Jade said.

"I don't know, but I trust Lucinda's instincts." I said as I strapped her feet tightly to the foot rests. "I'm going to make Jamie fly as fast as he can, and you might fall off if you were at the back."

I got on behind Jade and Jamie took off as fast as he could. I looked over my shoulder to see what was coming since we're off the ground. If this was a festival this would be greatly welcomed, but what was about to hit Dunwiddy was something I didn't want to happen so soon, not while the village was on its way to recovery. It was more than a storm, but a tornado, a tornado filled with what seemed like millions of rose petals, which causes the tornado to look like a giant red horn, cutting away everything in its path.

"Jamie! Fly as fast as you can towards Lucinda's place. It should be safer there." I ordered.

Before I could catch my breath, we were speeding in the air like lightning. Jade was holding onto Jamie's neck as if she was holding on to dear life.

As we arrived at Lucinda's place, we could Lucinda and Ruby already at the front door, while her mother was standing on the pavement. Jamie landed fast but graciously, and I quickly unstrapped Jade off.

"Go with Ruby. I need to see how to turn that tornado around." I said.

"But Sofia! You could get hurt!" Ruby tried to go to me, but was stopped by Lucinda.

"You and Jade stay in the basement. I'll go."

I looked at Lucinda, who had a bulky bag and had two wands in her hand. It seems she was all geared up for this.

"I'll come, too." Lucinda's mother spoke up. "I deal with mother nature very well."

Lucinda's mother was one of the most powerful magic user I've seen in all of Enchancia. Once, when James, Amber and I wanted to take mom to a picnic to celebrate Mother's Day, and when I tried to separate Mom and I from the others so that we could be together with a little magic help from Lucinda, her mother thought that Lucinda was trying to Hex us for fun that she also followed and tried to make the calm river into a raging river. She even made the isolated island, which was where we all had our picnic together with James and Amber, levitate into the air. It was such powerful magic that even Lucinda couldn't reverse its spell on her own.

"Alright, let's-"

"Hold on there, dear girl." Lucinda's mother stopped me as I was about to get onto Jamie. "Riding a Pegasus to stop a tornado isn't going to work."

"How come?"

"Because, my dear girl, that tornado will be filled with small dusts and dirt, and it could fly into the horse's eyes and blind him. I suggest you use this ride with Lucinda. Her broom is strong enough to with stand the strong air pressure." She stroked along the front of Jamie's face. "And I strongly suggest that you send this fellow back to the castle, with a note, to let your family know of the situation here."

She was right. I had to let Mom know about this so that she could contact Dad as soon as Jamie gets back home. I hastily scribbled a letter and tied it Jamie's reins.

"Please make sure you get home safe and as fast as your wings can get you to. Even if it means finding Clover instead. Understand, Jamie?"

"Of course, Princess. Just make sure YOU don't get hurt or it'll be my neck that you'll find rolling on the ground, after I get my face powdered and groomed all over." He cleans a bit off his wings.

Yes, I forgot to mention that Jamie's a bit...well...fashionable? The castle's staff noticed his peculiar behavior, but they didn't seem to mind, so as long as he doesn't cause any trouble.

"Alright, Jamie. I'll be careful. And! I'll make sure to bring you some juicy apples on the way back."

"You'd better!" Jamie says as he quickly takes off heading towards the castle.

I join Lucinda and her mother as we took off towards the edge of the village, where we first saw the tornado coming from the distance. When we reached there, it was still far, but it was still heading towards the village. Who knows when it'll change its speed.

"Lucinda, when I grow the trees over there, use the potion that you made that could make wood into cement. I'll try to grow the trees as tall as I can."

"Got it, Mom!" Lucinda said as her broom speed away towards the tornado.

I held onto the broom with my best grip, because I know that I could slip off at anytime as I do not know when Lucinda will change directions as I am not the one controlling the broom. The winds were starting to get louder and louder. I could see Lucinda's face making a painful expression. She finally stops, a few good distances between the edge of the village and tornado.

"Sofia! Do you know how to hang upside down on a Monkey-Bar?" She yelled.

"Yes! Why?"

"Do that on the broom! I need you to help me pour some of my failed-attempted potions onto the trees that'll rise up!" She showed me a bottle. "Use both of the extensions of my broom! I'll strap your legs and feet so that you won't fall!"

"Alrgiht! Just make sure not to make me bump into any trees!"

She giggled. I was serious about having my face getting hit by the trees, not knowing if there'll be leaves of poison ivy among them.

I swung myself backwards, using my legs to feel around the extensions I made sure that I was in a comfortable so that I wouldn't shift my legs. I could feel some ropes tying around my ankles and knees, with magic I guess since I don't feel any hands during the process. Once again, I'm dangling on the broom, with ropes this time.

"I gotta say though, this tornado looks very pretty when it's filled with all those petals instead of dusts, dirt and debris!" Lucinda made a comment as she handed me 2 bottle potions.

"Would've been nice to see during the Flower festival!" I shouted while trying to firmly grasp the bottles.

I looked at the bottles and noticed it wasn't closed with corks, but with some sort of soft paper.

"When I say so, drop them like a bomb every few feet apart! Got it?!"

"Yeah!"

We anxiously waited as we watched the beautiful, yet dangerous tornado coming closer inch by inch. As if an earthquake had struck, the trees below us started rising like arrows shooting through the sky. Lucinda took off flying straight.

"NOW!" She ordered.

I threw the first one immediately, then waited to pass by a few more trees when the first potion finally erupted in a huge wall of smoke. I was as the first few trees in that area, which were as tall as the highest mountain in the world, slowly turning color from ground up, from brown to gray, until it reached to the branches, and not sparring any of the leaves.

"SOFIA! WHAT CHA' WAITING FOR?!"

I was brought back to my senses as I immediately let go of the second bottle in my hand.

"SORRY! I WAS DISTRACTED BY THE TREES TURNING INTO CEMENT!"

"JUST TRY TO FOCUS FROM NOW!" She hands me some more of the bottles.

We kept on going like that, until I noticed the trail forming an arch, or a curve. If this wall will work and stay strong, maybe the tornado will bounce off from it. When we were at our last bottle, I threw it at the end of the curve. If I had opened the bottles' contents from the air, I might've cemented more trees than we needed. I wouldn't be harming any of the animals as they were long gone from there and went to look for better shelter. Animals had better sense of hearing than humans and knew in advance if there were incoming storms or strong winds.

"Alright! We're done!" I shouted.

"Yup! Hang on there, Sofia!" She said as we flew away from the wall. "I'll untie you when we reached the village."

I think that was a good idea, so in case anything happens to the wall, we could always go back to fix it.

"SNAP! SNAP"

I felt my left leg let loose from the broom.

"SNAP!"

And only my right ankle was left tied.

"AHH!" I screamed.

I tried to bring my left leg up to reached the other extension of the broom, but my legs had both become numb from being tied for too long and not enough blood had flowed back there, so both my legs were both dead for the moment.

"SOFIA! HOLD ON! GRAB MY HAND!"

I tried to reach her hand, but I wasn't within reach. I could slowly feel the rope breaking on my ankle. Lucinda grabbed my foot just as the rope finally broke loose. I was now dangling, holding onto the only hope left.

"HANG ON, SOFIA!"

I could feel the broom speeding away really fast, but I could feel myself slowly slipping off from her grip. Then, out of nowhere, a strong gust of wind blew into us, and I felt myself falling. _Fast_.

"SOFIA!"


	3. STF-Teenage Version-Intro Part 3 (Last)

_**Disclaimer: **Sofia The First Belongs to Disney._

_Comments From the Author:_

I have uploaded the all awaited 3rd and final part of this intro!~

I'm so sorry if I'm a little late today...since it's Sunday I have to spend most of my morning in church...with my very active daughter... . ...

Now, next month I'll be starting off with Cedric-Sofia series...I'm not sure how many chapters will there be since I'm still in the middle of it all...the PRESSURE!...If you'd like to see a different pairing after Ced-Fia...please vote your choice of pairing found on my profile page...if you do not have a FanFiction account...you can leave your choice in my Twitter...Deviant Art...Blogger...or on my Youtube Account...I will be accepting votes until the end of September this year...Yes...You've got a lot of time to get people to vote for your next favorite pairing for me to write...the highest votes will be the next pairing series for me to write after Ced-Fia...Remember...VOTE VOTE VOTE!

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Well...I won't keep you guys any longer...

Remember...My next Preview of the next chapter or part will be posted in my Deviant Art and Blogger, a week before the 18th next month...

Happy reading everyone! Enjoy!~

This is Natnarf...

_Signing Off!~_

* * *

><p>Hugo's POV<p>

"So...what is Father going to say about my transfer of classes? There's always Big-Bro to take over the kingdom. Sometimes I wonder if my best was ever good enough for him since Big Bro's done pretty much everything and has excelled himself to a much higher level. I mean, I've done better things too, even as being the only one in our family to win the Flying Crown in the Flying Derby Tournament many years ago for our school, only because Prince James of Enchancia sprained his hand and I was the third best rider in our school. Prince James and Princess Sofia were the first two riders. I tried to slow down Sofia at the start of the race, but I think they won due to luck. I had a good momentum when I was flying, until I got side tracked for 2 seconds for not keeping my eyes on the path. Goodness. Why am I worried about this? I should just focus on what's now. The future will only come to me if I focus on the present."

I was riding on Electra, taking her out on a whim from being cooped up all day inside the stables at the school. Electra is our family horse, but she was sent to stay in Royal Prep because she was one of the Winning horses. We do get to take her home during the holidays like Wassailia, but we just have to make sure that we get the proper permissions and such. The route I usually take is near the edge of the Village of Dunwiddy where the forest is beautiful and the sounds of nature seem to help calm Electra. Just as we are approaching the boundaries of the forest Electra stands to a halt with a 'Neigh'. She's trained to sense anything that feels different to her 50 yards away. Soon I was able to feel the different pressure in the air.

"...Hmm?...Roses? How odd." I said as I smelled the familiar scent in the air. "It's not yet the season for the Flower Fest."

I ponder for a few moments, then I heard multiple 'BANG' shots. It was probably some fireworks being shot into the air. Concluded that maybe a festival was being held at the moment. I decided that it was nothing to worry about and tired to turn Electra around. As I was brainstorming on whether to go to a different path or back to the school stables, Electra turned back again, looking at the forest silently.

"Electra? What-"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

A sharp scream rang through the air, and no sooner did she turned around and sped through the air towards the source of the voice. I held onto the reins as tight as my fingers could hold as I've never ridden on her as fast as she is now. The wind now felt like a thousand bees were stinging me simultaneously, but it also felt as if I were having a facial massage. As if my eyes had a mind of its own, it shot at something that was falling down. I made out the arms and legs, and as soon as we were close enough, the rest of the features finally came into view; it was a person falling in their riding clothes. I couldn't see who it was as their back was facing me. As if Electra was able to read my mind, she sped up even more quickly towards the falling figure, and just as Electra's hooves touched the leaves of one of the many trees, the person landed in my arms just in time, in the style that you'd carry a princess.

Electra wasted no time and quickly made an 'L' turn going right, which was where the village was.

"Sofia!" A voice from above me spoke.

I looked up to see who it was, and it was a girl, maybe around my age or so, flying on a half covered-metallic wooden broom. If I'm not mistaken, she must be a Witch, judging by the way her clothes were.

She quickly flew down beside me on my right.

"Sofia! Are you alright?!" She shouted at the person in my arms.

The person's head was on my right, who had their hands in tight fists and the hat was covering the face. They looked up, and I almost didn't have a voice in my throat.

"HUGO?!" It was Princess Sofia of Enchancia, and she was obviously shocked at my presence.

Lucky for me, I didn't show my shocked expression at the start. I quickly cleared my throat and gave my smile as I always do at school.

"Sofia." Flawless.

"Are you alright?!" The Witch spoke up. I totally forgot about her.

"Yeah!" Sofia said.

"I just saw Mom signaling us to retreat. We've gotta get back quickly."

The Witch makes eye contact with mine and motions her head, signaling me to follow her lead. I didn't need to tell Electra as she followed on her own pursuit. I was still carrying Sofia with both arms, it's too dangerous to shift her to sit in front of me.

"Can you hold on for a little bit longer, Sofia? As soon as we get to the ground you'll be able to check for injuries and stretch a bit."

"Yes, I can." She replied back, with a look of reassurance.

Of all of the princesses that I've meant in my life, Sofia's the only one that I never found attractive, but yet she's also one of the hardest to get her to fawn over me. Maybe it's because of her outgoing personality and her interest for outdoor activities that I find it hard to even compete against her. I admit that I never really thought of her as a Princess nor does she even deserve to be respected as one since she was born as a common village girl, and I definitely hated her even more when she and her step-brother James won me over at the Try-out race for the school's Flying Derby team when we were younger.

When the time came for the Flying Derby championships, I knew I was never going to be racing for the school. But as if luck was on my side, James injures his arm just as he finishes the semi-finals, and I was then called in to replace him to ride for the finals. It was my only chance to show my family that I could win the race, and prove that I can be the greatest rider anyone would ever see. After all, it had been at least a hundred years since Royal Prep has ever made it to the finals. But being in the finals meant that I had to work with Sofia, and she had suggested that we do one of the most difficult Team Plays of all time, The Flying Sling-Shot Play, where one rider was to sling shot the lighter one so that he will fly faster towards the finish line, which was more powerful than The Wing Blast Play. I was selfish at the time because I wanted to cross the finish line first as being the first meant being the best, so I kept rejecting her as a team player. It came to the point where I thought winning would be hopeless and impossible that I wanted to quit just before the race started. Winning the race meant a lot to me as I wanted to hear that Winning song the crown would always sing whenever the school's team wins the race, and every male member of my family has heard it, except for me.

I thought Sofia had given up on me, but she came searching for me, even at the very last second, she never gave up on encouraging me to go back. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't even be riding Electra proudly today. It was then that I had gained new found respect for Sofia. It always pains me to see how she never holds anything against me after all of the times that I've somewhat 'bullied' her, even when she said 'Yes' to me just now showing just how much she trusts me. This makes me wonder if I truly deserve being called a 'Prince' at all.

We entered the boundaries of Dunwiddy, but we didn't land on the ground. I see another Witch on a broom, who was an adult, as we stopped right beside her.

"Goodness, Lucinda. I told you both to be careful." She said.

"Sorry Mom. It was the pressure in the wind." The younger Witch said.

"Well, at least this young man came along and saved Princess Sofia." She looked at me and gave me a big grin. "I suppose you don't understand the situation you just got into, huh?"

"Huh?" I was confused. "Is this a 'You shouldn't poke your nose into other people's business' alternative question?"

"Not quite." Her smiled quickly disappeared as she pointed towards the forest.

I never actually got a good look at what all this was about, until I turned to look over at the horizon. A huge tornado, in the color of a rose flower, heading towards this very village. What on earth was Sofia trying to get herself into here?

"Lucinda, have you bombed enough of the area?"

"Yes, Mom. It's all you now." The young Witch makes eye contact with me again. "Let's move back a bit. This could get a little messy."

As we slowly moved back, I manage to shift Sofia to sit in front of me. She wasn't heavy, which was a good thing, but for holding her so long in the same position made my upper arms a little numb. I tried not to show it, but Sofia seems to understand as she looks over her shoulders.

"Thank you, Hugo. Sorry for holding me so long. Hope your arms won't be a burden when you fly back."

Her eyes were filled with kindness and innocence, that you'd almost fall for it. I looked away a bit to hide a bit of my face.

"Don't worry about it." I said as I cleared my throat. "Just try to avoid doing anymore outrageous stunts as much as possible. You are a princess after all."

"I'll try. I can't make any promises though." She says in return.

"THREE! TWO! ONE! HYA!"

The older Witch shouted out and pointed her branch like wand towards the direction of the tornado. I thought she was going to turn the tornado into something ridiculous, like how most Witches do whenever they cast a spell. In my place Albuquerque, most of the people would be terrified of even mentioning the word 'Witch' as they would get 'Hexed' on the spot.

But instead of turning the tornado into another something, a giant wall cement colored trees emerges from the ground going up, in the exact position where I caught the falling Sofia. If I understood this correctly, Sofia was with the young Witch trying to 'Bomb' some of the trees, probably with some potions or spells, so that the older Witch would only turn the affected trees into a giant wall to block the tornado from coming into the village. That's a lot of effort being done, but couldn't she just hex the tornado instead?

"Wouldn't it be easier to just turn the tornado into another object or such? Why go through all of this effort just to block it from coming in?" I asked Sofia.

"My mom can't do that." The young Witch answered me instead. "This isn't your everyday normal tornado. It's protected by a magical barrier, so we have to first trap it."

"How will you trap it? And if it is successfully done, how will you rid of it? It'll just come back if you let it roam freely." I wanted an answer.

"Hehe. Just watch how we do things." She giggles and flies to her mother.

"Is it alright to trust them to do these things?" I asked in doubt. "Aren't the villagers afraid of them? They're witches after all."

"They're a part of the village as the rest of the villagers are, and their whole family has lived in the village long enough to gain everyone's respect and trust, Hugo." Sofia calmly answered. "Besides, Lucinda and her mom aren't like any other of the Witches you see out there."

I decided to remain where I am as I watch how the outcome will turn out. The tornado flies into the wall, not ever slowing down in one spot. The wall then starts curling up into a cylinder form, trapping the tornado right inside it. Must be the mother's doing. The daughter holds out two different wands, one in each hand. She starts shooting fireballs from one of it, sending it towards the tornado. She then casts a round object just above the cylinder wall from the other wand, which looked like a giant lid from a Casserole of some sort. After shooting about 10 fireballs, she quickly slams the lid down on the cylinder.

"What the...what's going on-"

"Most fires are usually magic's worst enemy."

"ACK!" I reacted.

I was in disbelief that the mother Witch was just flying on her broom beside me.

"Aren't you supposed to be over there supporting the cylinder wall?" I was confused.

"I already locked the wall in place, so the tornado won't be getting loose anytime soon. I've already wasted most of my energy just building the trees into a wall, as well as bending it. I'm not as young as I used to be, so I'd naturally get tired out no matter how powerful my spells are.

"Lucinda on the other hand is still young and has a lot more stamina. If I were to hold the lid down in place, I'd be wiped off of my broom from the strong pressure of the tornado. She has so much stamina that doing two spells at the same time is nothing for her, which is why I left her to finish the job. The tornado is full of rose petals, so naturally we're dealing with a magic user who is handles with nature elemental spells. Except for water and fire element spells, all of the other kinds of magic are weak against fire, the most basic knowledge in all of magic. Lucinda's using fireballs to burn all of the rose petals, which is mainly what's holding up the tornado. It'll all be over as soon." She says with confidence.

I looked at the hard working Witch holding down the lid as much as she can handle. Then I felt something tapping on my right hand. It was Sofia. She motions me to lower my head and puts her hand over my ear.

"It's also because Lucinda has an incredible sense of hearing, she'd be able to hear if the tornado is subsiding or still going strong." Sofia whispers.

We watched as we waited for Lucinda to finally open the lid. It felt like an eternity waiting for that moment, and when she finally opened it, she gave us the 'I did it' sign. Just as she starts clearing everything up, a loud of roar and cheer erupted from behind us. It was the villagers who had come out of hiding in their homes, cheering and applauding to the heroes who saved the village from a terrible fate. Lucinda finally regroups to us and we all landed on the ground. I got off of Electra first, then held out my hand to help Sofia down. She's still a princess despite dressed in full horse riding clothes, and if I didn't do it, my reputation as a Prince would be put to sham.

"Sofia! Sofia!"

I hear two other voices coming towards us, whom are both village girls and are in the same age group as Sofia. By the way they called out to Sofia, they're probably a lively pair, maybe even very chatty.

"Jade! Ruby!" Sofia hugs them both.

"You guys did it! You guys really stopped the tornado from hitting us." The one in the green dress said.

"Who knew what would've happened if you didn't come by to the village today." The girl in the red dress said.

"It was mostly Lucinda who did all the hard work. I was more of a drag really. Can you imagine, Me, a horse rider, fall off of a broom in the sky? Heh." Sofia sounded sarcastic.

"You FELL?!" The red one said.

"You're...not...a ghost...are ya?" The green one says as she tries to poke Sofia's arm.

"Haha. I'm alive, silly. Though I wouldn't have been if Hugo hadn't passed by." She gestured her arm at me.

"Salutations, young ladies." I greeted with a polished bow.

"This is Prince Hugo, from the Principality of Albuquerque." Sofia introduced. "Hugo, these are my childhood and best friends, Jade and Ruby." She gestured from the girl in green to the one in red. It kinda makes sense anyway, considering how their names and their colored clothing ironically matches.

"Nice to meet cha'." Jade curtsied.

"It's a great honor to meet you." Ruby followed with a smile.

"By the way, young man."

I turned around to see that it was the mother Witch who spoke from behind me.

"What were you doing passing by around the area? You're from Albuquerque, which is quite a great distance from here to there."

"I was taking my horse out on our usual stroll, an often routine I do whenever I finished school for the day." I replied.

"Even in the mist of the recent phenomenon that has struck some of the villages, you still choose to expose yourself out and about?" She wasn't convinced.

"Yes." I strongly answered.

I know that some of the villages had been affected by the strange phenomenon that has been going around the area, such rose petals falling from the sky, some weird particles flying in the air that we are breathing in, and maybe that tornado earlier might partly be responsible as well. The only reason I'm not afraid is because I still haven't been infected yet. When the phenomenon first broke out, I wasn't aware of it as nobody at home knew of it either, and yet I was always going on strolls over the villages and forests that I never knew were already affected by the phenomenon.

"Young man." She looked at me, as if studying. "I know of your kind, and normally I should just ignore you."

Maybe she knows of how Witches are being treated back at home, which is why her attitude towards me changed all of a sudden.

"But I can sense that you are different from your family."

That greatly annoyed me. I give a bow and turned around, holding Electra's reins in my hand as I prepare to leave.

"You follow what they say that is best, especially as you are one of the male members of the family. I assume you must be confused as to why you and your brother are both titled as 'Prince's instead of only one of you."

I stopped walking.

I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Waited to hear if she'd continue to talk.

Amongst the noisy cheerful crowd, nobody notices how there's an incredibly intense atmosphere between the Witch and I. It's as if time had slowed everyone and everything else around except for the two of us. Just waiting to hear what else she has to say is incredibly heavy and painful to my ear drums. I turned around to make eye contact with her. What else does she know that lies in her eyes? Are any of the answers that I seek can be found in her? She only stood there, and smiled. She turns around and starts walking away, until a silhouette passes in front of my vision. Everything goes back to its normal pace, everyone else still remained doing their own thing, but there were no signs of the Witch being around.

"Hugo?"

I felt a hand on my arm, turned around and I see Sofia standing there, with a worried expression. She probably noticed me staring into the nothingness.

"Thank you, Hugo. Please be careful on your way back home." She says as she curtsies with a smile.

As always, her smile always hurts my heart, as if saying 'because you're my friend, you'll always be forgiven'. It'd be embarrassing if I started crying on the spot. I take a bow, and and climbed onto Electra. Hopefully, she won't be following me.

* * *

><p>Sofia's POV<p>

Just as I watched Hugo take off, I see something else in the sky coming into view. I looked hard and see two silhouettes in the distance. It wasn't long before they landed on the ground, spooked some of the villagers as dirt on the ground scattered everywhere in the air, causing everyone to cough.

"Cough! Cough! Sorry about that, everyone. Cough! Cough!" A familiar voice tried to speak up amongst the confusion.

I tried to get a view by fanning the air with one hand, but I was just one small person. The wind started blowing the dust down, and slowly I start to make out the two silhouettes. They were Jamie and Clover on the right, and Princess Vivian riding on her pet dragon, Crackle, who was once small, but is now as big as a horse's stable.

"Vivian!" I jogged towards them. "What are you doing here?"

"I received the help message from your pet rabbit." She then shrugs. "Actually, I was playing with Crackle in our garden when I saw your pet rabbit riding the horse. The rabbit then gave me the letter and I came flying over."

"Oh Vivian." I smiled. "Actually, can I ask you a favor?"

"Hehe. Okay, what's is it?" She giggles as she climbs down Crackle.

"I need to borrow Crackle to burn whatever is left behind from that Rose Tornado, need to make sure that they won't be able to revive themselves to cause another tornado attack against the village." I said.

"Sure. You better ride her yourself though. I won't be able to know where the petals are located anyway." She says and goes over to Jamie and Clover.

I climbed onto Crackle's back and sat on the base of her long neck.

"Hi, Sofia!" She greeted me happily, as always.

"Heya, Crackle. Thanks for coming." I patted her on the side of her neck. "I'll come back real quick, Vivian."

And without waiting for her to reply Crackle quickly takes off and flies towards the forest. I guided her to where Lucinda and I dropped the Bomb potions at. Lucinda's mom made the trees into a wall and then a cylinder, and after Lucinda tidied up the area, there is barely anything left in the area except for some debris from the cylinder wall and some ashes and petals.

"Crackle. Could you get me down to that pile of debris and ashes?"

"I'm on it!"

She quickly lowers herself down, and softly lands on her toes. I quickly took out my wand and summoned my box out, and inside I got one piece of paper. I didn't want having any chances in case some of the Bomb potions were still in these debris so I used made some of the rose petals float onto the paper using magic, then folded the paper to trap them in. I put the folded paper inside the box and took another piece of paper, and scooped some of the ashes onto the paper using the paper's sides.

"Why are you collecting some of them, Sofia?"

"I need Cedric to analyze some of these, maybe he'd be able to find out what's causing these rose petals to create a tornado." I said as I pack everything away and summon my box away.

I climbed back onto Crackle.

"Crackle, how hazardous is your fire?"

"Hmm...Pretty much the most hazardous. Why?"

"Well, could you burn only that pile and not the rest of the forest? We don't want any of those rose petals to start up any tornadoes on its own anything soon, whether large or small ones."

"I'm on it!"

She crouches down like a lizard and breathes her purplish fire at the pile. We watched as the chunks of cement slowly melts down and dries up into a pile of white chalk, while the rose petals burn into ashes while its aromatic scent evaporates into the air. Crackle digs out a big chunk of earth from the ground, then she pushes the burnt pile into the hole, and burying them like she was playing in a kid's sand box.

"Good job, Crackle."

"Anytime, Sofia." She says while happily wagging her tail. "Shall we head back now?"

"Yes. Oh wait!" I hurriedly search through my pockets and got out my already emptied bottle. "Can I have some of your dragon's breath again?"

"Sure. Give me that bottle."

I uncork the bottle and Crackle carefully uses her two nails to grab hold of it. She's done this many times for me, so she knows how much of her breath I need to fill up the bottle, without melting the bottle as well. She's a big dragon now, so she breaths out a small amount of fire through one of her nostrils and into the bottle. I always thought that fire could never be another kind of color nor would it be pretty to look at except when burned inside a fireplace. Crackle's flame was truly beautiful, yet it can be gentle or ragingly dangerous just like the fireworks.

"Here ya go!" She hands me back the bottle.

I took out a cloth and used it to hold the bottle, in case it was hot, and corked the opening before any of its contents could escape.

"Now can we fly?"

"Haha. Of course, Crackle."

We flew back to the village and I announced to everyone to be wary of any surprise attacks or unnatural encounters, and to keep on monitoring over their crops if in case anything new happens. I bid everyone goodbye and Vivian and I parted ways to go back home, to avoid any unnecessary encounters. When I finally reached back home to the castle, I went straight for my bedroom. I wasted no time once I reached the two larges doors to my bedroom and opened them like no one else was watching. I was carrying the sleepy Clover in my arms, and I walked over to the window seat and gently put him on his cushion. Even when he's all sleepy and tired, he still manages to help me out whenever and wherever I needed it.

I still had some free time left before dinner time, so I went and flopped onto my bed like a sack of rice.

"Sigh." I exhaled pretty deeply. "What a rough day. I never expect to deal with so much in one day. It's like watching a play go through my head." I said as I closed my eyes.

First a love confession between two friends, then a background story about Mae and Frederick's engagement, then Jin's secret arranged engagement, and finally Zandar's determination to win Hildegard's heart. As if that's wasn't enough, then who was that mysterious attacker that attacked Vivian right at the school's grounds? Who or what created that Rose Tornado? And more importantly, how and what started this chaotic phenomenon that has affected many people and farm fields across vast villages in the kingdom of Enchancia? And the most important issue of all: why did Dad enroll me into the Advance Princess Course instead of the Harmony Course? If anyone, it should be Amber, since she's the eldest of us three.

"Princess Sofia?"

I hear someone calling me.

"Sofia."

It's getting closer.

"Sofia. Please get up."

I finally opened my eyes, and to see that it was Baileywick hovering over me upside down.

"You're finally awake, my dear. Exhausted I presume?" He says.

I sat up and stretched my sore and tired arms.

"Oh. It's you, Baileywick. YAWN." I covered my mouth with the back side of my hand. "What is it?"

"I actually came up here earlier, but I saw that you were sleeping so deeply that I decided to let you continue."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's way passed dinner time so-"

"WHAT?! I slept through dinner?!"

I looked out the window and saw the dark night had occupied the orange background.

"Oh no..." I said very depressedly.

"Don't worry. I told His majesty that you needed some rest after working very hard today checking on the farm fields. I also gave him the note you handed to me earlier."

"Hah. Thank you, Baileywick."

"No problem, Sofia. Now then, would you like to eat something refreshing or something light? Or do you have a different request in mind?"

I was about to list out a menu I had in mind when I felt my bracelet on my hand. I then recalled that I was supposed to do one more thing before the day ended.

"Baileywick, can I have a light course for two people? And I'd like it to be brought somewhere."

"And where exactly is that?" His face was confused.

I was standing by the large window, the place just up the stairs in the hall where we usually held special events, such as Balls or grand events in. Whenever I look out the window from here, I could see the many stars in the clear night sky. It is always at this time that I really truly enjoy what the world and Mother Nature has to offer, making me feel like life is really worth living for to enjoy these gifts given to us, but most of us has taken them for granted.

"Excuse me, Sofia."

I turned around as I placed my hands just on the base of my dress' corset. I was Baileywick, standing as proper as always. I do wish he would just relax, even if for a minute, for I fear that he would one day break his spine for always standing straight for too long.

"I brought him just as you asked. Anything else you'd want?"

"No, thank you. That'll be all, Baileywick. You may retire for the night."

"I'll be on stand by in case you need-"

"No need, Baileywick." I quickly cut in. "Let me change my statement again. I insist that you to leave and retire for the night."

"But Sofia, I-"

"It's an order. Understood?" I said, sternly.

It looked like he was going to protest, but he let out a sigh instead.

"Very well." He says. Then he gives a deep bow. "Have a good night, Princess Sofia."

"Good night, Baileywick." I said calmly, but a little sternly.

I hope he doesn't misunderstand my intentions. This was my only chance to make him get a break. I wasn't going to let him work anymore than he already has for today, let alone work overtime to serve dinner to someone who over slept.

"Please come on up." I called out to my guest.

I hear footstep walking up slowly, first his head came into view, then his upper body, and finally the rest of him. He then gave a slight bow with his hands together as always.

"Good evening, Princess Sofia."

"Good evening, Mr. Cedric." I curtsied.

"You do know you should only bow to those who are of _Royalty_, right?"

"I know, but I bow to show my respect." I smiled.

"What did you call me for?"

"Well, I haven't had my dinner yet, and I thought it'd be nice to have a chance to enjoy the moon tonight with some company. So, would you care to join me? " I gestured at the two seated round table, furnished with complete silverware and two plates filled with food.

"What?!" Mr. Cedric was taken aback.

He studied the table, then his eyes slowly shifted to me as he analyzed me from top to bottom.

"This is some kind of trick, isn't it? What are you conspiring against me?" He shifted his body by facing me sideways.

"Why would I wanna trick you? I'm just inviting you to be my partner for dinner." I said as I placed my hands on my waist.

"...Are you sure?" His one eye stares at me intensely.

"Would I ever lie to you, Mr. Cedric? The one and only great sorcerer that I truly and gratefully admire in the whole world? Just join me, Mr. Cedric. Besides, I know that you haven't had your dinner yet."

He stared at me as if I was some kind of weirdo, but he decided to give in. He pulled up a chair, offering me to sit. I greatly accepted it and sat down. He then went to the other side and sat himself down, cautiously.

"You don't have to be nervous, Mr. Cedric. We're just having dinner together." I said as I unfolded my Swan folded napkin.

"That's exactly what's making me nervous. Royalty and the castle staff never ever eat meals together, let alone eating Alone To-Ge-Ther." He says while I could feel his eyes staring at me.

"I don't think it's such a big deal. Or else Baileywick wouldn't have even brought you here in the first place." I said as I moved my Dinner plate filled with our main course to one side of table, and placed my soup in front of me and took a sip with my Soup spoon.

"Easy for you to say." He says while pondering over which utensils to pick up on the table.

Our dinner was Chicken slices with salad, and just nearby is a small bowl of Mushroom soup. Whatever we have for our meals depends on the utensils placements. In this case, we have two forks placed on the left of our Dinner plate, the Dinner fork is the largest and placed on the most farthest left away from the plate, and the Salad fork is placed just next to the plate and is smaller in size. The knives and spoons all go on the right side of the plate. The Salad knife is smaller and first in line, followed by the Dinner fork that is a little bigger. Both of the knives' blades are always placed with the cutting edge toward the plate. Lastly is the Soup spoon, placed at the end of the line. We don't eat rice, so we don't have a spoon for it. Unless necessary, we just proceed using the same Soup spoon to eat the rice instead.

"Take the fork farthest on the left, and the knife farthest on the right when you want to eat the chicken slices. The two inner fork and knife are used when eating the salad." I said to him. "Since there's soup being served, you should drink that first before eating your meal."

"Okay..." He answers obediently and moves his dishes in the order I did. "I presume it's this only spoon, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Cedric. That is a Soup spoon."

I watched him as he enjoys his soup, which made me feel happy. I never know what he eats, so seeing him enjoy at least one good set of food in his lifetime makes me feel as if I accomplished something good.

"Merlin's Mushrooms! This soup is good." He says with a grin like I've never seen before. "Tell me, are there usually more utensils than what we have now?"

"Oh yes. There's a whole lot more."

"How on earth would I remember which ones to pick from then?" He's brows wrinkled together.

"Don't worry. It's actually pretty simple. As long as you know what is being served first, then it's easy to follow the order of the utensils."

"You got me." He was very confused.

"Alright, Mr. Cedric. I'll be your teacher for now. You just continue eating your meal while you listen to me." I said as I rest my hands on the table.

"Do I need to be an Apprentice while you're at it?"

"Haha. If you want to, but it'll only last for few minutes." I said as I cleared my throat. "When you are seated, the large plate in front of you is empty. The maids will bring in the food according to order: Appetizer, First Course, Fish Course, Entree, and Salad being last. The way the utensils are arranged doesn't matter, just work your way from 'Outside in'. The first dishes always start with the utensils from the right side.

"Shellfish foods are always, and if ever, are served first, and it's the only dish that has a special kind of shaped fork being placed on the right, called the Oyster Fork. Following that is the First Course, consisting of Soup or Fruit, and you only use spoons. If you do not know which spoons to use, just work your way 'Outside in' on what's being served to you first."

"So...from outside going towards inside...Got it." He says and looking at his utensils in front of him.

"Next is the Fish course. This is sometimes served, but is never served after any other kinds of meat or foods. It has its own knife and fork, placed just after the spoon. outside of the. Next is the Entree, which is also called the Main Course, consisting of other meats and foods, even noodles and eggs, using the Dinner knife and fork pair after the set for the fish. Lastly, is the Salad, and only the last set of the most inner knife and fork is used for that."

"That's a little hard to remember. " He says.

"Sometimes though, you won't be able to recognize the food being served to you. In this case, you can always ask what is it. There's some exceptions on some other foods being served. If there's bread being served, there will be a small plate and knife placed on your far top left. You can't use them for any other foods. Dessert and its utensils will always be given and served once everyone has finished eating and their plates and utensils are cleared. There are no rules for when the drinks can be drunk, but you can only drink them when you finished chewing the food inside your mouth, unless you're choking."

"Wow. So much to remember. I'll never be able to sit properly at the table without making at least one or two mistakes." He was scratching his head.

"Haha. Don't worry. It also took me awhile before I got everything correctly. Amber made fun of me for dropping all of the forks all over the place when I first arrived since I didn't know which ones to use at first. Baileywick frantically went crazy making me practice which ones to use over and over." I paused and took a sip from my cup filled with orange juice. "At least I made it in the end. And I believe you will too, one of these days."

We continued our meals in silence, until we were down to our last few leaves of our salad. I watched as Mr. Cedric choose his utensils from when he switched to his Entree, which is the Chicken slices, and to the salad. He didn't ask for my advise and chose everything correctly. He was going to pick up his cup of water. I put both of my Salad utensils down and clapped slowly

"Well done, Mr. Cedric." I smiled proudly. "You did everything correctly."

"Really?" He says after he gulps his water down his throat.

"Except for one thing."

"...Which is?..."

I pointed towards the Swan folded napkin.

"You forgot to unfold and place that on your lap. What would you have used if you had sauce all over your face?"

"I thought this was a Decor." He was amazed by how it was neatly folded. "Is it usually placed here?"

"That's Baileywick's way of placing it. It's normally placed right on the Dinner plate if you were to eat elsewhere. That should've been the first thing to go for at the beginning before you start your meal." I smiled. "Other than that, you've passed with flying colors."

"Poseidon's Pumpkins ." He tried to sound enthusiastic and propped his head with one hand on the table.

"By the way. Here is the last ingredient you needed." I took out the bottle from my pocket and placed it near the center of the table.

He took it and studied it. His lips softly curled in the corners.

"This is by far the best batch. It's even got sparkles in them, rarely seen."

I took out two folded papers and placed them near the center of the table.

"Hm? What are these?" He noticed.

"When I went to the Village of Dunwiddy, a tornado almost struck the village."

"What about it? Don't tell me you stopped the tornado all by yourself?"

"I did...with some help of course." I staggered.

"Then there's nothing wrong with that." He said.

"The problem was that the tornado isn't made up of wind, but Rose petals."

Cedric's eyes instantly shot wide open the moment I said 'Rose petals'.

"Did you say...Rose...petals?"

"Mm hm." I nodded. "I got some help in destroying the Rose Tornado, and I got some of its samples before we totally destroyed and buried it."

I extended my hand over the two folded papers.

"This one on the left are some rose petals that were still intact. This one on the right contains some of the burned ashes." I retracted my hand. "We used some Bomb potions, so you might find some of those potions in these, as well as some cement debris."

"Bomb potions?" He thought for a moment. "Were...were those made by Witches by any chance?"

"Yes. Have you seen those potions before?"

"I have. But that's where the problem arises. When a Witch creates a potion, it is never made the same way. If it's made by a powerful Witch, then the ingredients can be identified very easily. If made by a beginner, the chances are that the content's ingredients will all look exactly alike. Unless...these Rose Petals and the ones that Princess Amber got are one and the same." His eyes were almost shinning.

If ever you wanted to see Mr. Cedric at his best, it was when he was really confident in what he's thinking and saying. He wasn't never as confident as this before, especially whenever he's around his father he'd always get interrupted by his father in the middle of conjuring or casting any spells. But as the years went by and ever since he earned his father's recognition, he became better and even got acknowledgment from the Majesties from the other Tri-Kingdoms, apart from some members in our family, especially Amber who never believes in him to begin with, unless he's made her tiaras and jewels and accessories.

He was still mumbling to himself when some strands of his thin black hair fell to the front from behind. You wouldn't notice, but he never cuts his hair and tucks them all inside his robe. I quietly stood up and went over behind him. He was so concentrated on his thoughts that he didn't even noticed that I wasn't in my chair. I took out a spare hair brush from my other pocket and swiftly took his hair from his robe and combed straight away.

"WAH!-" He instantly shook as if he was electrified. "W-W-WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU-"

"Don't move, Mr. Cedric. You have too many knots tangled in the ends of your hair."

"I KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO MAKE SOME KIND OF TRICK! UNHAND ME OR-"

"Either You take better care of yourself or shave your head clean, Mr. Cedric!" I scolded him. "Now sit still and don't move."

I could tell that he was a bit spooked, but he didn't attempt to argue back and remained seated. In actuality, his hair is very soft and thin, and not so tangled. I combed his hair thoroughly just in case there were any knots hidden. Once I went through it all, I began gathering them up and held them all in one hand. It was as long as my hair, just around the chest. His front gray bangs are left untouched as it does distinguish his persona. When I was satisfied, I took out a strong black elastic ribbon and tied it quickly and neatly.

"There! Good as new." I said feeling satisfied. "Now lemme get a good look at you."

I walked around to try get a good look at him, and as expected he was grumpy and his front bangs were covering his face.

"C'mon. It wasn't all that bad." I said encouragingly. "Now stand up and-"

"Thank you for the food, and good night, Princess Sofia." He said and a small bow without waiting for me to finish or looking up to face me.

He quickly shoved the bottle and the two folded papers into his sleeves and walked away heading for the stairs without ever looking at me. I hurriedly followed after him.

"Don't be like that. At least let me see what...you..."

He stopped without warning and turned around to face me. I almost tripped when I came to a stop, with the last of my words trailed off. I was so amazed with how he's turned out with his hair tied up that I almost mesmerized, in a good way.

"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" He looked at me, annoyed.

"...uh...uh...You...uh...you look..." I just couldn't find the right words at that moment.

"Just say it. I look weird, right?" He says, then he starts raising his right up to the back of his long pony tail. "You shouldn't have-"

But I quickly took hold of his arm with both of my hands, making him more surprised than he already was.

"What on earth are you-"

"Don't take it down. Mr. Cedric." I finally got the words in my head to form into my mouth. "It's...It's what I pictured 'Cedric the Sensational' to be."

The nickname 'Cedric the Sensational' came to be when our Buttercup Troop had planned a field trip to visit the Mystic Meadows, a retirement home where all of the greatest sorcerers go to rest. At that time Ruby's mother was sick, so Baileywick was the troop leader for that day, and I brought along Mr. Cedric to visit his parents who were also staying at the Mystic Meadows.

Our goal for that day was to do a good deed so that we could earn a "Good Deeds" badge, and my good deed was to help Mr. Cedric get the Family Wand from his father. The Family Wand is the most powerful wand, handcrafted by Goodwyn the Great's great great grand Sorcerer, and is passed down from Sorcerer father to Sorcerer Son. I had to help Mr. Cedric show how great he is as a Sorcerer by conjuring or cast some the best spells to his father.

We were at a topic on about how great his father was during his time and got to the point on how he got his nickname, and on the spot I made up the nickname 'Cedric the Sen-Sational', and I thought it was very fancy and, Sen-Sational! At the end of the day, with all of the excitement and sideline dramas, just as we were leaving the Mystic Meadows, his father came to him and was given the Family Wand, even calling Cedric by his new given nickname. Only a few of us know of this nickname, and we hope that when more people get to know of his brilliance, that name will surface and be remembered by everyone.

"Y-You..."He stared at me with a look of disbelief with a bit of redness shown on his cheeks. "...Do you even know the position we're in, again?!" And his

"Huh?" I blinked.

I looked at him, myself, and around us, but I saw nothing that was wrong or anything that looked out of the ordinary. He probably just mistook something for another thing. I shook my head in response.

"Sigh, Princess Sofia." He sighed heavily as he takes my hands off his arm. "Please understand what you're doing before you actually do something." And turns around to walk down the stairs.

I try to understand what his words meant as I watched him go down, until he reached to the bottom of the steps. He stops, looking into the direction he's facing.

"You're a young lady now, Princess Sofia. You can't just do whatever pleases you like when you were just new to the palace. Please understand the position I'm in." He bowed one last time and left, without ever looking up to me.

I still didn't understand to what he was pertaining about or to. I decided to just leave it at that and started clearing up the table.

"Let me do the rest, Princess Sofia."

I turned around to see Violet walking over, pushing a food cart in her hands.

"Violet! You weren't suppose to come back until tomorrow." I said as I walked to the side of the table. "Didn't you get to visit your family? Were you asked to stay behind without my knowledge?"

"No, Princess Sofia." She paused. "Oops! I mean, Sofia. I did get to visit my family, but there wasn't enough room for me to sleep in for the night, so I decided to come back here. Besides, I got so conditioned to working constantly that I couldn't stay still when I had nothing to do or work with. Serving you and the family is an honor, and it's one of the things I love doing most in the world." She says while tidying up. "By the way, your bath's ready. Don't wait till it gets cold."

"Haha. Alright. Well then, enjoy the rest of the night, Birthday Girl." I curtsied and waved goodbye.

* * *

><p>King Roland's POV<p>

Miranda and I were already at the table, eating breakfast. It's a very important meal to start the day. On most days I don't get to completely finish my food, not even my fruits. Reason? It's Baileywick, since he keeps track of my schedule and duties for each and everyday. He's always attending to not only my family and I, but also to all of the castle's staff from the kitchen to the yard sweepers. In fact, he knows everyone's schedule so well that I don't know if he himself has one. I'm pretty sure he's some kind of automatic gizmo somewhere inside of him.

For this morning's breakfast, I had some apples and pancakes, and a glass of grape juice and a glass of water on the side. Hopefully I'll get to finish them all this time. It's hard to through the day with your stomach constantly rumbling for attention.

"Good morning, Daddy."

"Good morning, Dad."

Amber and James, my twins, who were both already at my side. Amber gave Miranda and I each a peck on the cheek, while James only bows to me but gives Miranda a peck. He used to also give me a peck, until he somewhat learned that it was kind of embarrassing as a boy. I was a bit surprised that I didn't notice them come in, I was probably too immersed in my own thinking.

"Oh. Where's Sofia?" Miranda asks.

"She's getting ready, Your Majesty." Baileywick answers.

"Did she get to eat something last night?" I asked.

"Yes, she did, Your Majesty" Baileywick answers again. "She woke up just as when you all were getting ready for bed."

"Ah. Very good." I answered and bit into my apple. Ponder for a second. Cleared my throat. "Still, I think she's working a little bit too hard. I do hope she does rest every now and then, even if there's a phenomenon going on."

"I did tell her to relax, Daddy." Amber spoke as she gets settled into her chair with Baileywick's assistance. "Unlike a certain someone who just runs around with cannons in his head."

"Hey. I work just as hard." James replied.

"Well, I don't see you lifting a finger to any of the books given to you." Amber said, started to raise her voice.

"It doesn't mean that I'm not doing anything-"

"Stop it. Both of you!" Baileywick scolds them both and they immediately stop bickering. It's because of him that I never need to hire a nanny for each of them.

"I received a complaint yesterday from Cedric, Rolly." Miranda says smilingly at me. "Saying that James asked him to cast a spell on making an instant Trench in the ground when it's supposed to be done by James and the rest of the castle's soldiers and knights _themselves_?"

"Really?" I was surprised, not anymore. "James? Is that true?"

"Ugh! Can't everyone just stop picking on me all in one day?" James wined while chewing on his pancakes.

"Fine. I'll just pick on you tomorrow." I said, jokingly.

"Hey." He wined again.

I know I should be scolding him to work harder as a Prince, since he's the only son I have who would inherit the crown after me, traditionally speaking. But with the recent changes and concerns that crossed my mind about his capabilities of ruling the kingdom, I can't just pressure him to do something he doesn't want to do. I was also once a young boy, and because I was the only son in the family, I had no choice but to accept the crown. I thought it would never work out, but it turned out that I had means and the capabilities to actually take care of a kingdom, but I never laid back or tried to escape from the problems.

My thoughts were interrupted as the doors opened. It was Sofia, all dressed up in her dress as she walks over to the table.

"Good morning, Dad. Mom." She give us a peck on the cheek each as well. "Amber. James." She curtsied to them since they were already into their meals.

"Morning, Sofia." Amber greets her as cheerful as always.

"Gof Mor'neng, Sof." James said with his mouth full, as always.

"James. Mind your manners, again." Baileywick scolds him, as always.

"GLUP! Sorry." He smiled, half-heartedly.

Sofia only giggled.

When I first married Miranda, I was worried if the children would get along. In most of the stories you'd see or hear, most step siblings never got along due to envy or jealousy, like in the case of Cinderella who had to bare with being an all around maid and servant around her house after her biological father died when she was young. I'm just glad that the three of them got along really well, almost as if they were really good friends.

"Sorry I overslept last night."

"It's alright, Sofia. I heard how you worked so hard yesterday that you didn't even get to rest until you got back home." Miranda said. "I hope you always taking good care of yourself in whenever you do from now on, alright?"

"Yes, Mom." Sofia said. Then she turned to face me. "How's the Tri-Kingdom meeting yesterday, Dad?"

"Mm." He swallowed his food down without chewing everything properly. "It's all good, Sofia. Thanks for asking."

"You didn't have to swallow down so fast on my account."

"It's alright. A few cherished words with my dear children, is worth more than a couple of spoonfuls of food in my mouth." I said. She smiled.

I watched as Sofia take her seat next to her mother, not picking up her apple, and went to pour some syrup on her pancakes with her smile on her face. I guess she's going to save that for later, probably going to bring that with her to school. If you got fooled by her smile, try again by looking at her eyes. They say that the eyes are the windows to your soul, and you could clearly see there was something disturbing her. I wouldn't blame her. She did get a surprise notice from her teachers yesterday: the letter of her Advance Princess Course, sitting right in my pocket, signed and sealed, not yet delivered.

"Sofia." Miranda said. "There's something I forgot to tell you, which is a couple of years late actually, so do forgive this old woman."

"Oh. Don't worry, Mom. Nothing's ever told too late than never." Sofia says as she picks up her cup of water and takes a sip to wet her dry lips.

"Well, we've lived here in Enchancia for so long now-"

"Almost long enough." Amber interrupts, but quickly goes back to eating.

"-And even if we're living in a castle, we should remember that we have our own customs and festivals, right?" Miranda finishes her question.

"Right." Sofia answers obediently. "And?"

"Well...this might be a fault in my part, but...we forgot to celebrate one of our very important traditions from our side of the family, your _Quincea___ñ___era_, which is your becoming of Womanhood at 15 years of age, traditionally celebrated from my side of the family."

"_Ooh_." Everyone said in rhythm, myself included.

"Why did we never get to celebrate it?" Sofia curiously asked.

"The better question is-"

"-Why was it never celebrated?" James interrupts Amber once again by finishing her question.

"James!" Amber was angry, as always.

"I can't help it! I like celebrations!"

"Celebrations that don't include school, that IS." Amber pouted really hard.

"I...kind of...forgot about it, since I, myself, do not even remember." Miranda shrugged. "When I was younger, our family didn't even have the expenses to celebrate any of the kingdom's celebrations, even our own birthdays were just simple: a small cake and one candle in the middle. We simply weren't very wealthy at all back then to even bother, and because I've gotten used to not having such of an occasion, I completely forgot about yours, Sofia. So I apologize to you, Sofia, for not remembering such an important celebration in any young woman's life."

"Oh, Mom. There's no need to apologize." Sofia comforts her mother by placing her hand on her mother's shoulder. This is, of course, a rude table manner, but I guess I can let this slip by. "What matters most is that we're together as a family, whether we live in riches or rags, got a cup cake or a 10 foot tall layered cake, just as long as I've got my family by my side to spend each and every thoughtful day with."

"Thank you, Sofia." Miranda smiles, with a bit of redness still in her eyes.

I waited for a moment for everyone in the room, including the stand-by castle staff, to absorb this wonderful feeling, before horribly making my turn to share my end of what's in my mind. I put both of utensils down, and cleared my throat as loud and as obvious as I could. It caught everyone's attention, especially Sofia's.

"Ehem. Sofia. I have something I'd like to explain to you."

"Yes. I'm listening, Dad." She looked at me with determination.

"I'd like also for everyone here at the table to listen as well." I said as I took out the folded paper in my pocket. "Baileywick. Please."

He came over as quickly and as quietly as possible, Took and folded paper, with concern, and went over to Sofia. I could see that he was worried about my answer on it since he knows about its contents, he read it thoroughly over and over while bring it over to me after dinner last night. Sofia took it. Opened the paper with care. Read through it without taking an eye off it. And her eyes both shot wide open once she reached to the bottom. She stood up from her chair and shot her eyes at me like an arrow in a split second. If it was a real one, I wouldn't stand a change of dodging it.

"Why?! What is the meaning of this, Dad?!" She was angry, but it was controlled to a mild level as she gestured out the paper in her hand.

"What's going on, Sofia?" Amber looked concerned.

"What's that paper, Sof?" James cleared his throat and asked curiously.

"Please sit down." I said calmly.

She looked at while slowly sitting back down into her chair. I waited to see if she'll at least have a bite off of her pancakes, but it seems it won't be anytime soon.

I looked at everyone's faces, aching to hear what I have to say. As a Father. As a Husband. As a King. I stood up and remained in my place.

"Miranda. I have a confession. I have made some decisions on my own without your knowledge, or your approval. I only did it because I wanted to change a tradition made by all of the past Kings of this kingdom, and fix a choice for all of the future generations that will follow after me. So I apologize to you now before I explain myself." I said and bowed deeply in front of her.

"Oh Rolly." She says as she held my hands. It's her way of telling me to stop bowing. "It's alright. I forgive you. I know that whatever decision you make is for everyone's best interests and with good intentions. Now please, tell us what is it that you had decided on."

"Thank you." I gave her a hug. Normally I'm not allowed to do so, but since it's just with the family, I think it can be excused. I don't hear Baileywick complaining either.

"Now then." I cleared my throat after Miranda sat back down. "I'm sure you three are aware that it is now the time where you all advance to the next level of your classes at Royal Prep. It is also during these times that we Kings of our own Kingdom, have the hardest time on deciding whom of our children will inherit the throne once we are no longer able to do so.

In our kingdom, it is a tradition that the first son in the family is recognized to inherit the throne without any doubt or questions. Your Aunt Matilda was the first born in the family, but I was the only son and so it was decided that I be the next in line and not your aunt.

"It is through this tradition that there were less decision making and less confusions, but at the same time this creates many sibling rivalry disputes and political disputes with not just the royal family, but with the people of the kingdom as well.

"Let me explain that part a little bit more. It is only the King who gets to choose who should be the next following ruler. There are times that the people of the kingdom seem to want someone else to rule over them rather than the one the King chooses, just because they think one is better than the other, say maybe one is better in overseeing the secondary problems in the lives of the villagers, while the other is better in combat battle and defense strategics. The villagers will choose the first one just because he takes care of the villagers by noticing the smallest of problems that don't always seem to be a problem with people who are naturally rich in wealth. At the same time, the needs for their protection of their villages and homes is sacrificed, leaving everyone vulnerable to strikes and attacks from enemies and terrorists from outside, thus creating more disputes amongst themselves."

I paused for a moment to see if the three of them understood what I've said so far, and there seems to be no complains or raising of the arms. But just as I was to start again, Sofia raises hers.

"Yes, Sofia?"

"You said only the first son is chosen '_Traditionally_', correct?" She asked. "Then why this?" Her eyes gestures at the paper on the table beside her plate strongly.

"I am getting to that part, Sofia." I said. "When my father had to decide if your Aunt Matilda was going to take the throne, she had argued that she wasn't meant to stay on a chair, but to be free as an Adventurer since she wanted to go explore places without having to worry about taking care of a kingdom on her shoulders I had no choice but to accept it even though I wanted to be something else at that time as well. But father said that there wouldn't be anyone left to run the kingdom if he had granted me my wish to be something else other than the next successor. "

It was at that moment memories of my past during those periods of times ran across my mind like many paintings are shuffling like thin cards. It wasn't pleasant to see while trying to talk seriously to the children about the throne. I shook it to remain my composure, but it seems that Sofia kind of noticed it as her eyes had soften for just a moment.

"My father had only made that decision because he had no other options left in his hands. In the years of watching you three grow up, I've tried to be as observant as I could, also with the help of Baileywick in raising you all like a second parent, to see what good traits and abilities you have or developed, or in what situations and scenarios are you most capable of handling and dealing with. This is so that I be a better Judge than be a Follower of traditions without exploring everything that could be beneficial to both the kingdom and its people.

"I had intended to only enroll James to the Advance Prince Course in the beginning and the both of you in the Harmony Course. Both of your papers came to my desk last year, but Sofia's paper only came to my desk this year since she's younger than you both. With the recent phenomenon broken out, this made me change my mind to do what I should've done when I had both of your papers: put all of you in the Advance Prince and Princess Course. I know I already submitted Amber's paper in for the Harmony Course, but I planned on sending a letter to your school that I want to change my decision, if it is still doable. The reason for this, is so that through this method, I'll know who is a better candidate for the throne. Whether we related by blood, or not, I want to see who can handle things as if you're already nominated to be in my chair, the throne. I-"

"I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIS, DAD!" Sofia stood and yelled. Something I never expected her to do throughout my lifetime. "I shouldn't even be involve in this as I'm not a royal blood by birth!""

"Sofia. Listen to me. I know this will be a long time before it will actually happen, but I believe that in the future, people will start to elect people who aren't even born of royal blood to become their next rulers to rule over them and the kingdom. Look at me and your mother, I married her not because she is not of royal blood, but because I truly love her with all my heart. And deep down inside, she's a good person at heart and in mind. In some of the other kingdoms, their sons who aren't married to any princesses, are married to those who are either rich in Wealth, Power, Wisdom, Beauty, or just because of love, who are just normal civilians and or villagers and aren't even born in a luxurious palace."

I see that Sofia's eyes were reacting to a different response, probably she had realized something familiar that she's heard of before.

"I see that you must've heard something similar related to this topic judging by the eyes responding to my words, Sofia. Is there someone you know who is already on this problem?"

She didn't respond at first, but she slowly nodded a couple of seconds later.

"I'm doing this so that no one will complain about the wrong choice that I'll make in the future, but that doesn't mean that I've taken all of your freedom away. Yes, I my have taken your freedom of choice to be a future King or Queen or not at all, but I haven't taken your freedom to choose how you should live your lives, and to whom you want to marry, or if you want to get married at all. I want you three to do some things from now until it is due time for me to make my decision: I want you to do your best in everything that you do from this point on, but not to the point where it gets too serious, otherwise you wouldn't be able to enjoy your life. And secondly, I want you to think hardly on what you really want to be or do, if you weren't chosen be in the throne. This is just in case that if you are not chosen, and want to pursue a certain career in life, and you'll be able to do it freely once judgment is over. And maybe, just maybe, it may free you from the line up and you'll gain total freedom of your life. Are we clear on this?"

The three of them looked at each other, as if there was going to be a Hailstorm brewing up at the table. I wasn't expecting them to answer, but I wasn't expecting an easy competition or a simple conversation to evade this only request I've got.

This is it. It's now, or never.

* * *

><p>Sofia's POV<p>

Right after our breakfast the three of us went off to our own to spend the remaining spare time before we were headed off to school. I went out into the back, where I had first dropped my kite just outside the along the coastline. No one from the castle passes by here, as well as being the only blind spot, so the place's basically mine to roam about and own for most of the time, at least during the none cold seasons. I stand near the edge of the cliff, watching the motionless waves crashing onto and backing away the dry beautiful pearl white sand at the foot of the cliff, nearest the entrance of an open 'once-abandoned' cave mine. Every once and a while I would purposely come over here and stand atop the cliff, showing my silhouette over the waters, and around this time, this happens.

"Sofia!"

My eyes diverted over to the area where the flat stones were, and there she was, a face accessorized with only the natural beauty of her golden colored hair that sparkled in the sunlight.

"Hi, Sofia!" She called out to me and waved.

"Oona!" I waved back.

"Are you still free? Sven's been summoned by mom and they could take a while before I get my turn with my first lesson."

"Sure." I said without hesitation and darted away.

I went down the cliff along the carefully manually constructed staircases, who built these are of beyond my knowledge, and I'd rather keep it a mystery. I find it more exciting that way.

I finally reached to the bottom of the steps, but stopped myself before showing myself in Oona's line of sight. Luckily there was a large fallen boulder just between the staircase and Oona, so I would take off my shoes, undid my wand 'bracelet', and transformed them into a pair of earrings, then my wand back to a bracelet. This way, if by chance anyone would happen to pass by and found my shoes, no one would get alarmed and start a frantic 'Search Party' for me.

I stepped into view and making my way over to Oona, to the flat stone rock and went on it. I wasted no time and sat down, letting my feet sink half way into the water, almost part of my own natural instincts and habits. Moments later my feet and my dress magically and quickly dissolved into a set of scaly fins of my own, along with my unchanged wand bracelet and my Amulet. My white-pearled tiara turns into one golden tiara consisting a small centered cute bow with three golden pearls descending in size on either side.

"Whoa. I envy you, Sofia." Oona says.

"Huh?"

"Those clams. They're not normally found in any good condition, not even as a whole."

I looked down and saw that I was no longer wearing a tank top like when I first started out as a mermaid, and in fact had some clams over my chest. I do say, these are really pretty in color.

"That amulet is really something, Sofia. Come on."

She dives into the water first. I follow suit, with a good silent splash.

Oona is a Mermaid Princess, being the youngest, she loves to explore the vast seas, to collect fallen and sunken 'Human' treasures along the sand currents. I found her on my ever first vacation cruise on the Floating Palace, trying to get a close look at us and our palace, then got tangled in an old fishing net because I caught a glimpse of her head. I freed her and swam with her to secret hideaway, learning of her desire to want to learn more of our humanly ways. We've became good friends over the years, her desire to learn and explore more has never gotten anywhere less since the last.

We swam along the soft currents until we reached to an old sunken shipwreck, Oona's secret hideaway filled with all of her 'Human' treasures collected over the years, and it has been filled at least more than half of the last amount I've seen stashed inside since last week, compared to the first time I've seen it.

"So how are you at school?" Oona asks. "Have you...uh...change your 'class' rooms yet? Oh who am I kidding? It doesn't make it any difference to me if you've changed your 'class' and not the room." She giggled.

"Well, I just changed my 'class' status, but I will only get to attend when I get to school later. So there isn't much I could tell you, only have to wait till the next time you and I both surfaced into the back." I shrugged.

"Aw. Too bad." She twirls on the spot. "I was hoping something interesting might help me in my decisions about my comb." She says as she takes her comb off of her hair.

Just like my Amulet of Avalor, her comb also contains powerful magic that protects the wearer from any evil and harm. The last I saw its powerful magic at work was a long time ago, when she was held captive by a Sea Monster magic user, and her older sister, Cora, used the comb's magic to defeat the monster, sending him way out into the distance with a water blast of some sort. No one else has seen him ever since.

"I've only managed to learn a couple of what Cora knows, but it seems to be follow my pace at a certain level, other times it just becomes to strong for me to even hold it without slipping off of my hand." She reaches for her comb on her hair.

With the first wave, she shoots a small narrow ball of water through the shipwreck's circular window. The second wave in the other direction, she manages three hollowed rings over a couple of fishes that happened to swim by.

"So good so far." I said with a clap.

She faced over to me to bow, but a quick bubble shot out from her comb headed for me, and didn't duck quick enough that it also took my pearly tiara out through the cracks of the ship.

"My tiara!" I gasped and swam after it without thinking.

"Let's chase it." Oona follows.

We breached the gap of the ship and continued to push further when something stopped in front of me, and I immediately braced myself as I tried to stop my fins.

"Wah!"

I heard someone else scream just as I felt myself stop. I opened my eyes to see a pink seahorse just inches away from my nose, also bracing himself.

"Sofia!" I felt a hand on my shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. I think I'm still in one piece." I said as I searched myself to check that I was still intact, flesh and tail altogether.

"Huh?" The pink seahorse spoke up. "Sofia?"

"Yes. It is I." I answered. "Are you injured anywhere?"

"Yes. I'm alright. Not a scale scratched or scarred." He checks himself, but shakes his head and looks at me again. "WAIT. Are you by any chance the 'Sofia' the human, the one who visited us here almost ten years ago?"

I studied him very carefully, but my eyes were just too focused into his eyes. And at that point I know exactly who he was.

"Sven?!"

"The one and only!" He twirled once. "What brings you here, Sofia? Anyway, I'm sorry to be bothering you both, but I need to bring Princess Oona back. Your mother is worried since there are a couple of rich and polished ships that breached just above on the small island a few minutes ago."

"What?" Oona moaned sadly. "But I need to help Sofia, I accidentally blasted her-"

"It's alright, Oona." I cut her short. "I'll be able to find it. You need to hide. Those ships up there might not be from ours, or they could be fishing boats. We wouldn't want your mother to worry. I'll find it on my own. I know where it landed." I put up a smile.

I waved a silent goodbye and swam away without letting her say another word. If I'm correct, her mother must want her to put up a defense barrier in case these ships were looking to explore new fishing. With the epidemic going around, not many fishermen were selling their goods, so some more wealthier folks are fishing for food someplace else just to thrive for awhile. I continued swimming until I breached onto a small island with beautiful while sand on the shore and plenty of large rock and stone boulders to go around. I looked around until something shining caught the corner of my right eye. I went towards it, crawling as silent as my scales could melt over any crunchy sands, and with the tips of my left hand's fingers, I hooked it with just a nail to spare. I carefully sat up and wore on my tiara, like a glove snugly sitting on a fit hand.

"I don't like how very quiet this area is." An annoyed male voice said. "I'd rather be ballroom dancing than relaxing here in the sun."

"But you can't barely even dance for at least 4 minutes on your own." Another male voice said. "Try to at least enjoy the company of a partner if that's not too much. Maybe you could dance with the first girl that you've danced with when we were younger."

"Bah! She was the only one I could dance to a full score's music with, after that she has been dancing with the others just because they never got the courage to ask anyone else. I'd rather just enjoy my own company and savor the delicacy of the food being made into with hard work and effort. No one will ask to borrow eaten food inside of your stomach anyway."

"Can you at least try not to be too distinguishing or detailed about things like that when you're with other people? For as long as I've been with you, even I have my limitations." The second voice said in a mono tone followed with a deep clap, like a book closed together.

"You can bare it. You've managed to bare with the marriage arranged between you and Mae, so you can bare someone like me." The first voice said.

"Because she's more fragile and gentle. You, on the other hand, are a one who always complains, about anything and anyone." The second voice said.

I took this chance to move while they were talking. The voices can at least blend in with the sounds of the onshore waves and my shifting on the sand with my scales. If I'm listening to this correctly, the second voice owner's must be Prince Frederick's. Why they are here is beyond my knowledge, so as long as I could slip back into the water without squealing a sound

"At least I'm honest. Some of the other princes aren't Man enough tell their thoughts and ideas, and leads some of the princesses to believing that their dream 'Prince' is totally perfect in the way they want 'us' to be." The first voice claimed.

"I don't think that you're experienced enough as a Man or a Boy to say such things. I'd suggest that you at least try to converse with Princess Penelope or Princess Clio before you judge." Prince Frederick said.

But before I could hear anything else, I felt something small crawling on my tail's scales. I tried to brush it away with my fingers, which was a wrong and dangerous move, and it tried to fight back with a snap.

"Eep!" I let out a small, but loud squeal, and immediately covered my mouth with both of my hands.

"What was that?" The first voice said.

I was starting to panic, and I tried to leaned my back against a rock with my hair conveniently placed in between, and holding onto my breath for dear life. I shut my eyes tight, my teeth clenching against each other, my right hand holding onto my tail and pulling it as far against the wall, and my left closing into a tight fist. I got no other rocks to cover me, and I'm stuck on the rough dusty sands. One wrong move and I could injure my scales on my tail, leading to some scars on my legs when tI urn back to my human form.

"..._You?_" A whisper spoke above me.

I didn't dare to look up, hoping that it wasn't me that the voice mentioned.

"What is it, Frederick?" The other voice raised in volume.

"It's just a seagull that just snatched a crab off the watery sand." Fredrick's said.

"Is that all? Bummer." The other voice sounded disappointed. "I think all of this heat is getting to me. To think I thought I heard a girl's voice over here. It probably would've been a genuine mermaid, and we could ask her for any wish we could've ever wanted."

"Are you really thinking or just being selfish?" Frederick's tone got a little agitated.

"Whatever. I'll go tell the Captains to get ready." The other voice said while decending in sound and range.

I quietly let out my breath as I slowly crawled into the waters.

"Be careful next time." Frederick spoke out of nowhere. "I do hope you'll get to school, unscratched, and dry cleaned." and I could hear him walking away.

I didn't dare to turn around and just kept on moving into the shallow waters, and further away. I learn that while there's one mysterious prince in our class who does not care to give his respects to any of the princesses, Prince Frederick is one who remains calm and collected while being true to himself to everyone. I never had imagined two very different personalities ever socializing peacefully at all. Now I've only got only goal in mind, and that's to make it back in time for the flying coach.

"REALLY, SOFIA?!" Everyone stared at me while I was in my only protective defense barrier; my table.

"Yes, everyone. Amber will also be shifting to this class, too." I said. "As soon as the Headmistresses accepts to our Dad's wishes."

"But I don't get it." Jun says. "I expected James to be in the Advance Princes Course. Why send you both here as well?"

"Unless you've got two Princes that you wanna send to the advance classes, your father can't just send all three of you." Maya also added. "Why'd he do it?"

"I..." I was at lost for words.

"It's alright." I looked to see that it was Vivian who just came to my side. "I'm sure the King has a good reason." She says as she pats her hand on my shoulder. "Besides, no one can blame them either since they only knew of this news this morning. All of them weren't themselves when they arrived at the school grounds, even Amber wasn't holding her fan that way she usually does."

"I know this will sound mean, coming from me." Hildegard spoke as she walks over to us. "But you all had the rights and the Voice to speak out your minds, right? Did any of you three try to object in his decision?"

"I did." I answered right away. "But he didn't want none of it and wanted us to take it as a challenge set for the three of us against-"

"Against each other." A voice cuts in. Everyone turns to see that it was Amber was just at the door frame.

"Amber." Clio goes over and escorts Amber to us.

"Thank you, Clio." Amber said, still in a gloomy tone as she goes to stand on my free side. "Please don't put pressure on just Sofia alone, both Sofia and I deserve the share of the pressure, let alone James, if he even agrees with us." Amber bows her head even lower than before. "I've never seen James so bothered in my life, seeing him only behaving like a wild beast at the table just this morning, before Daddy killed the mood and ruined it all for us. Do you mind if I borrowed that for a moment?" Amber asks Jun for a chair next to her and heavily slumped into it. "Sigh. Oh, Sofia. What will become of us?" Her voice was getting weaker and quieter.

I exhaled deeply. Then, for a moment, I quickly gathered my thoughts and concentrated very hardly on the situation, as if it were a 'Life and Death' crisis. Then when I finally got the words that I wanted in my head, I stood up sharply, faced Amber straight and held on both of her hands.

"Amber." I said loud and clear just in case she hasn't given me her full attention yet.

"Y-yes?" I could tell she was a little shocked.

"I know that I may say next may not imply to what I may or may not do in the future, BUT, I think...no, scratch that, I know that this is part of Dad's plan-"

"...his plan?..."

"Dad's plan to test us all, if we can truly be at peace with each other no matter what the problem arises. This is just Dad's way to see if we'll be opened minded enough to realize what kind of trick, trap, or test he's putting us through."

"...Daddy's way?..." Amber was murmuring to herself.

I could faintly hear everyone's voices talking in the background, but I'm not about to let those noises distract me in my words to get through to Amber.

"Even if this isn't part of his plan, I know he wants us to try and see how the three of us would act towards each other if we were like a solo country on our own. I think we should take advantage of the situation and try to 'Make Alliances' and 'Peace' despite of trying to follow Dad's way. What do you think. Amber?"

She was quietly mumbling to herself, even everyone around us was worried at her decision making. If these were normal circumstances, she'd usually choose the most outrageous choices. Maybe she'd choose to wear a full-feathered tiara over a feathered dress, or have on a gorgeous dress that would make her look like a she's in front of a parade instead of dressing up for a Science Project Presentation. I know that there must be, at least, a more serious decision maker inside of her.

"...I..." Amber just barely broke. "...I think Daddy's doing something funny behind our backs, too, Sofia." At last I could see her face brighten up. "And you know what?" She said with her hands on both of her sides with determination. "I'm not going to slump down ever again!" She proudly said. "I'm going to show Daddy that I'm the only Queen, or King, of myself, and no one's going to ever tell me anything that will ever let me feel so low ever again, because, I, AM, Princess Amber of Enchancia! And no ONE is going to tell me otherwise!"

Everyone, myself included, in the room clapped their hands, admiring Amber's first, and one of the few actual and serious decisions ever made, by herself. Amber then stepped down and hugged me, tighter than ever before. I knew that our bonds of being sister will truly strengthen overtime, especially with the upcoming trials that we'll both face ahead in these next few days, months, and even years to come.

It was long before Ms. Flora came into the room and tried to disburse the small, but beautiful...'Destruction', is an acceptable word to describe the situation, I guess? After all of the chaos has calmed down, and after I've had a couple of hours of 'Advance Princess Classes', I took the chance of using the recess to give myself a breather by going to the place where I first found a small cross bridge when I helped a baby bird up back into its nest as a new transfer student all of those years ago. I stood on the small bridge and tried to look for the small bird's nest. With my current height, I could see an old and tattered small bird's nest, the same one that I had first found all of those years ago, was still there, intact, and a few new leaves and small twigs were hovering it, but it had remained untouched after all those years. I thought to myself, '_How long does one bird's nest's structure last on its own without any sudden physical disturbances?_', as I walked over to the nest and gently remove the excess leaves and twigs.

"Are you really just doing that cleaning for a good cause, or for attention?" a voice suddenly spoke up from behind.

I turned around and saw James leaning against a tree just a couple of meters away from me. He was giving me a look that I've never seen before, even for his own personality.

"What are you trying to imply, James?" I try to maintain my tone of voice as calmly as I could. "Does cleaning off a bird's nest count as a 'Good Cause'?"

"It depends, Sof." He said in a mono tone. "We are talking about Dad's throne after all."

"You know better than anyone that 'I' do not deserve such a thing considering my poor village living background." I replied as I tried to continue cleaning after the nest with care.

"Precisely, Sof. This is 'Your' way of showing how even the 'once was a poor villager' can do better than a 'born as a royalty' thing." He says mockingly.

I stopped my hands, afraid that my rage might just damage was is left of the nest's holding structure, backed a few paces away and turned sharply at James.

"JAMES. I do not know what is going on in that head of yours, but let me just say it to you, right here, right now, that I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE CROWN OR THE THRONE OF ENCHANCIA. IF YOU WANT IT SO MUCH AND THAT BADLY, THEN I MIGHT AS WELL JUST STOP DOING ANYTHING, FLY ON A COACH TO THE VILLAGE OF DUNWIDDY, STAY AWAY FROM EVERYONE'S PRYING EYES, UNTIL DAD HAS MADE UP HIS DECISION ON WHO TO PICK!"

I yelled out on the top of my lungs and started walking away, but I felt a stern and strong tug on my left arm from behind and got pulled back, eventually felt myself being unable to move in James' strong grasp.

"If you did that, it would look like that 'I' had threatened you to leave the competition. Then the more the favor will more likely go to your side." He said.

"UNHAND ME. JAMES!" I was really angry, almost at my wits end.

"NO!" He said to me sternly. "You listen to me for just a moment." He finishes. Not saying anything else.

I'd figured that he wouldn't continue until I had remained calmed or gave in completely to listen to him for just a moment. So I finally let my arms loose and let out a deep breath, signifying that I 'Gave In' to what he has to say. He waited for a few more seconds to see if I'd rebel back before loosing his grip around me, giving me some space to breath get a good serious eye to eye contact communication.

"Look. I know that Dad said that he wanted us to just do our best in the things that we'll be doing from now on until he has finally made his decision on who he wants to take over the crown, and the throne. And you and I know that the more Amber and I try to do things, the more favor it'll be on you since you can do most things better than us." He said.

I was about to give him a piece of my mind, but he raised his hand's index finger, indicating me to wait for a moment. I reluctantly lowered my temper and gave him my full attention, with my eyes.

"Now, what if, and this is 'if' you'll agree with me, that you and I decide to pair up, and gain Dad's trust by stating to him that we'll 'Get Engaged' with each other instead?"

He said and paused for a moment, to see if I'll start to raise my voice or something to oppose his suggestion. But I did no such move. Seeing no 'expected' reactions from me, he continued.

"You probably had it figured out already, since we're both non-blood related, and we're probably the most convincingly compatible with each other in all of our aspects and interests, then we could totally pull this off. And when Dad finally does gives us his decision by handing us the crown, then that means that he's fully convinced and that we are interested in each other as an item. We'll then play it off for a little longer so that he wouldn't suspect anything, until we so-so '_officially_' break off our '_relationship_' and '_engagement_' with each other, I'll take the crown and you'll be free as a bird. Simple. So how's that sound to you?"

I waited for a few seconds for him to celebrate to himself about his plan, while I took some deep breaths to myself. Then I looked at him in the eyes.

"James."

"Yes, Sof? So you agree or-"

"You. Are. I-N-S-A-N-E. INSANE!" I spelled out the word with controlled temper with each letter that parted with my lips. "Dad knows us well enough than anyone else, that we only treat each other like any good brother and sister would do. He could easily tell if we're just pretending to have an interest with each other, James. Let's say he does fall for our act, what if he doesn't give us the key right away and gets us married first? We can't fake sign our marriage contract or vows in front of the people of the Kingdom. It'll not only ruin our good images, but Dad's as well, being 'King of Enchancia'. We can't ask Mr. Cedric either to cast some sort of potion or spell to 'temporally' or 'permanently' brain wash Dad's memories about the whole ordeal. We don't know, something could easily trigger Dad's memories and when he finds out he will be furiously mad at us, whether for a short time or forever." I said it all out without pausing, amazingly. "I'd rather just go through all of this with honesty and sincerity, than trickery and mockery, and making Dad looking like a fool in the end. Sorry, James. I would rather be honest than lie to ones I love."

James looked at me in my eyes, hoping to search for a hint of fear or flaw in my sight, as he slowly moved away from me, feeling disappointed with my answer. But the way he looked at me in his eyes didn't change, not a little bit.

"I'll just give you some time to think on your own." He says with an even more calmly manner. "Maybe then, and hopefully, when you finally decide to give me your full and final answer, it'll be of a different tone of choice." He smiled. Starts walking away, like the way he usually does, just a little more calmly.

If anything, this is probably the worst fight that I've ever gotten into with James, or with anyone at all. I better think of a solution before I make any decision that I might regret doing so later on. I decided to go back to everyone and put my cheerful smile, so that no one would notice the uneasy feeling inside of me. But as if time was kind, or cruel, to me, I was suddenly interrupted by someone's tapping from behind my shoulder. I instantly brought my senses back to reality and turned around to see who it was: Hugo.

"Oh." I gasped in surprised and immediately curtsied. "Hello, Prince Hugo."

"Sofia." He replied.

"Thank you again for yesterday, Hugo. If it weren't for you, I would've-"

"Save it, Princess." He says in a calm manner. "I just happen to be nearby, that's all. No need to give your thanks to someone like me-"

"Oh, but Hugo, I am deeply grateful for-"

"Princess." He stopped me again. "It's alright."

"But-"

"Just let her give her 'thanks' to you, Hugo." James abruptly stands in between us with ease.

I had completely forgotten to check if he had left the area before conversing with Hugo, and the tensions between the two highly proud princes was starting to feel intense.

"Oh. Prince James." Hugo tried his best to remain his composure. "I was at the impression that you were finished conversing with Princess Sofia here since I saw you walking away and all."

"I turned away from her for a few steps to give her space to breath, only to find someone else to have taken my conversing post." James quickly replied. "I watched you interrupt her once, and even when she tried to interrupt you as well, you still wouldn't let her give her 'thanks' and interrupted her the second time. Is that how a Prince should properly treat Princesses, whether from their own or from another one's Kingdom?"

I could feel the tension between them grow even tighter, as I tried my best to squeeze in between the two of them and successfully broke them apart with a force of my two hands.

"Please! We're on neutral grounds of other people's property. We wouldn't want to start a fight here and now, or you both will only go home and hear another earful from our parents." I said as quickly as I could and turned to face Hugo first. "Thank you again, and I'm so sorry about James." Then I spun hard and faced James. "I've already given my thanks to him, so he's got every right to say what he wants to say about it. Now let's move along."

But they both didn't move, until Hugo faced me and bowed with a smile, turned around and walked away calmly. I could hear James on the other ear puffed his lungs as he calmly marched away from the scene, only to be left alone, and I was not bothered for most of the time that I was left behind, thinking about this problematic situation that I was in. I was pondering over and over again and again, for most of the time I was, during the durations of my class attendances. Not that I didn't try to pay attention to my new found lessons, or ignore on what I was being asked and told to do, but somehow I also got some moments to myself that were undisturbed to let me think about what I should do. Even when I was eating my food during lunch time, most of the flavors didn't seemed to get absorbed into any of my taste buds as I chewed on them like normally. It wasn't long before I finally realized that school was almost over and I was already in my last class sitting in my homeroom seat. I let out my heaviest, silent sigh I've ever made. How...depressing.

"Finally, I'd like everyone's full attention on what I'm about to say."

Ms. Fauna makes her claim as she finishes cleaning the chalk board. She waves her hand over her teaching materials and neatly closes and stacks them up on one side of the table. She goes over everyone's tables, all of us, from the 'Advance Prince Course', the 'Advance Princess Course', and the 'Harmony Course'. I couldn't bare to take any chances of glancing around, knowing that James' just somewhere nearby, hopefully not, looking at me on my back.

"I wish the class would end soon." I whispered to myself, quietly.

"Got everyone's attention." Ms. Fauna nodded, satisfied. "As you all know, we're holding a Tea-Party here in our school grounds tomorrow, specifically in our dance hall."

She paused for a moment, to see if we were really paying attention to her as she takes a really quick, but spreadable glance with everyone's eyes, mine included.

"The other Headmistresses and I were discussing about this, and we decided not to pursue with the Tea-Party. Instead-"

"WHAT?!" Amber was the first to react as her voice screeched to the point where the very roots of our delicate eardrums rung vibrantly. "You can't just cancel the Tea-Party! I've been organizing it for days! Weeks!"

"Uh, Princess Amb-"

"The orders and catering services and arrangements I've made with the Bakeries simply can't refund any of the orders I've already purchased!"

"Uh, Princess-"

"And the decorations are on their way to arriving here in the morning, simply having no way of telling them to stop flying their shipments over. Much more is that I'll have to pay more than half of the compensations needed just for not telling them to cancel at least a week's notice-"

"PRINCESS AMBER!"

Ms. Fauna gave out a shout we never would have seen, or expected, in our lives. Ever.

"Ehem. Princess Amber. I never said that we were canceling any of the arrangements involving the Tea-Party."

"...You're not?" She finally spoke.

"No. Would you please take your seat so that I may continue with what I had planned to say, before you let out your inner 'wild animal' run loose, and get us all 'disrupted'." Ms. Fauna gestures at Amber's seat.

"Oh...hehe...alright. Ahem." Amber tries to let out a laugh before she regains her posture and elegantly takes back her seat. "I'm all good." She ends with a calm follow up.

"Thank you, Princess Amber. As I was saying earlier, before I was interrupted, that the Tea-Party will not be pursued. Instead, we'll be having a special school Ball-Dance."

In that instant, you could hear whispers amongst everyone almost immediately. I continued to remain in my current position, looking at nothing else but at Ms. Fauna, who doesn't seem to mind the current chit-chat disorder.

"The preparations and location will remain unchanged, but the time slot will be moved to the end of sunset, instead of having it being scheduled at tea time. Just simply so that you could all have more free time to dress up to your most desired image, one that you might want to present yourselves in when you arrive for the School Ball tomorrow. Remember that you and your partner should dress in the same dress code or theme."

The mumbling and murmuring in the room gets even more excited, but Ms. Fauna taps her wand three times on the table and the noise dies down in no more than a second or two, just before anything else gets out of hand.

"I know that we do have a shortage number of boys in this room to get every girl partnered with, but let us start by letting the girls in the room get the Prince next or near them open, and you boys are not allowed to decline nor brush away the first Princess asking for your free hands." She says sternly at us. "You may now scatter out, Princesses."

And mostly immediately, all of the girls in the room start to sprint towards each of the Princes' tables, hoping to grab a spot in their hands. As if time is slowing down in my eyes, I caught a slight image of each of the Princes' faces available in the room.

James, who I've grown up with and accepted as my brother, wants my collaborated trust to convince Dad to hand us over the crown, and when we finally do, I'll back away from the 'line of marriage' and loose Dad's trust that he has for me as his step-daughter.

Hugo, the second son and prince from the Principality of Albuquerque, is a hard-earned trusted classmate and Derby riding partner that I've worked hard to earn my friendship with, is one where some of the other princesses has their eyes set onto. To ask him to be my dance partner would create a lot of chaos in the classroom alone.

Desmond, a once very shy and faithless person is now a courageous and friend-caring prince, now dating officially to once of my closest friends, Princess Vivian. I am sure that picking him would create a lot of misunderstanding with Vivian, and that I do not want happening, even just for one night's dance party.

Khalid, Princess Maya's and Princess Leena's brother, the second of the three Kaldune's heirs. Despite having Maya already in the same course as I am, they still let Khalid take the Advance Prince Course, only because it is in their tradition that all of the children with an already certain future be given the lessons that of the highest priority and royalty. When the time comes that Leena feels that she's ready, she will also upgrade her course and join us other princesses. Khalid's the only one so far that I haven't heard a complaint from about anything, or having a set fate of marriage with any princess.

Jin, brother of Princess Jun from the kingdom of Wei-Ling, is one who has anything and everything in common with James, from the way they act and think, to the way they do and solve things. At the moment, he's marital status is hanging on a dangerous balance, between having to marry someone completely unknown to him, and trying to keep his parents' standard up to level, without upsetting either one off the scale of the bond that ties him and his only freedom called 'trust'.

Fredrick, another prince who is also in an engagement arrangement, but is set to get engaged with Princess Mae due to political arrangement. He is also one who peacefully and silently blends in with the other princes and princesses, while being sociable to those whose interests and intelligences differs from his and creates a balance relationship with them. He is probably the only living human being, to have knowledge about my secret being a mermaid, but I couldn't be sure since he never mentioned my name back then.

Zandar, Prince of Tangu, one of the very few friends whom I can call being closest to. He is James' best friend, whether in or out of school, they are always seen together, playing or creating plans to visit each other via Play Dates, or even doing school projects together. Despite his carefree attitude and able to socialize with almost anyone, I needed to help him get together with Hildegard, as he plans on helping her build up her kingdom in Friezenburg not just an ally, but as someone who wants to take her hand in marriage because he has been in love with her for the longest of time.

And there's that unknown voice with Frederick, one who despises the company of girls due to the fact his first dance with a girl was only experienced through pity. I wonder if I've already exchanged a few words with him, or if I've done any of my outside school activities with him. The fact that he is remained a secret would be very challenging for anyone to guess who he is at all. Along with this mystery man, there are three other princes of whom I've barely exchanged a word or two, maybe a few smiles and curtsies, but never actual conversations or had any projects that could get us to work together.

From amongst them all, my eyes scanned all of their faces once more. Who will I choose as my partner for the Dance, tomorrow? Will my choice create a controversial strong or safe enough to pass a school's Dance? Will my choice affect my after decisions towards our Dad's throne? Will the three of us siblings be able to resolve our problem through a choice that I will be making?

"I'll..." I say as I make a unanimous decision with myself.


End file.
